Stellantis tops Ftse Mib with September registration figures above estimates

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - A banner day for Stellantis, which topped the FTSE MIB in the aftermath of the September car registration data (+15.5% in Italy), higher than analysts' forecasts and up more than three times the Italian market (+4.07%), thanks mainly to the performance of Fiat (+35.6%), Alfa Romeo (+38.9%) and Citroen/Ds (+157.6%). The stock is currently up 7.17% to €8.72 per share, extending the positive series of the last few days (from 30 September to Thursday's close, the rise had been 10.1%).

Analysts' ratings were positive, with Akros raising its valuation from 'accumulate' to 'buy' and its price target from EUR 9.50 to EUR 10.50 per share, and Equita pointing out that 'sales are down year-on-year, and are confirmed to be recovering in Italy'. According to Equita, moreover, 'the recovery in the second half of the year was expected. The contribution of the recently launched new models (including Fiat Grande Panda, Citroen C3, Peugeot 3008, Opel Frontera, Mokka and Jeep Cherokee) will be even more evident from the fourth quarter, including deliveries to dealers for the latest models'.

Looking at the numbers, according to data compiled by Stellantis from a Dataforce source, the group posted 33,946 registrations last month, up 15.5% from 29,401 in the same month of 2024. In August they had grown by 3.1%. In September Stellantis had a 26.8% share of the Italian market, up from 24.1% in the same month of 2024 and better even than August's 26.3%. In the first nine months of the year, Stellantis registered 331,035 cars, a decrease of 9.4% compared to the same period last year (365,298 cars were registered in the period January-September 2024). For the nine months, the market share is 28.3% (from 30.3% and up from 28.7% in August).

"The Stellantis group and the Fiat brand remain firmly at the top of the Italian passenger car sales rankings thanks to the excellent performance of the Fiat Pandina (total PC market share of 6.1%), followed this month by the Jeep Avenger (total PC market share of 3.8%). On the passenger car front, Stellantis' growth in September was solid both in the private channel (24.1% market share, up despite the adverse market) and in long-term rentals," the company said.

Theregistration figures were also above analysts' expectations: "For both North America and the first European countries to report market data (France, Italy and Spain), sales in the third quarter and in September were better than expected," explained Intermonte's experts. For North America (US and Canada), sales were up by +5%, which is higher than the flat figure expected by the market. "We believe the number is encouraging as it marks a positive figure after two years," says Intermonte, which nevertheless points out a few shady spots. "The performance is lower than that of competitors (Gm, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai at +8%, +8%, +14%, +13%); growth was very strong in the fleet channel (+22%) which, however, has lower margins; the performance may have been helped by the end of incentives", they point out, however, noting that "for Europe, the first countries to report showed a September at +5%, consistent with expectations for the second half of the year, closing the third quarter at +1%".