Green Illusion Suffers Major Setback As Stellantis Takes Massive €22BN EV Write-Down

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

Automotive giant Stellantis is reporting multi-billion-euro write-downs for the second half of 2025. At the same time, management announces a strategic return to traditional internal combustion engines and a stronger focus on hybrid powertrains. The wall of the green transformation illusion has suffered another breach.

It was a black day for Stellantis, the parent company of brands like Fiat, Chrysler, and Opel. On Friday, in response to catastrophic business results, the company executed its EV strategy and reported write-downs totaling €22 billion, incurred solely in the second half of last year. On the books, this translates to a loss of €19–21 billion for Europe’s second-largest automaker in that period.

The first victims of this economic disaster are the shareholders: the dividend for the current year was immediately canceled. In the coming years, a quick recovery is not expected. The stock lost up to 25% in a single day, dragging the entire sector down.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa commented on the massive write-downs, describing the situation as a “business reset.” For Filosa, the burden stems from an overestimated pace of the energy transition, which disconnected the company from the actual needs, possibilities, and desires of many car buyers. The losses also reflect past operational mismanagement, which his new team now aims to gradually correct. A remarkable turnaround, now forced by market realities and the lack of EV demand.

A symbol of the strategic shift: Stellantis acquired a Canadian battery plant for a symbolic $100 — a project that once consumed billions. In the U.S., the all-electric RAM 1500 REV pickup is being entirely discontinued. The company is returning to traditional ICE vehicles and hybrid models. The same applies to delayed EV plans at Alfa Romeo and a general reduction in all-electric compact and midsize offerings.

Political Markets vs. Market Reality

So far, the politically hyped EV boom has failed to materialize. After years of automotive decline, during which manufacturers were seduced by political narratives of green transformation and buyers enticed with EV subsidies, the hangover follows the artificial euphoria.

Going forward, Stellantis will focus more on actual demand and less on political mandates. EV development will continue, but market-driven and aligned with buyer needs.

Once again, the lesson of classical tragedy proves true: humans learn only through painful experiences.

Stellantis is just the latest symptom of the crisis afflicting European automakers. Late last year, supplier Bosch announced 13,000 more global job cuts and a realignment of its internal EV strategy. Meanwhile, German media attempts to blame U.S. President Donald Trump, citing policy reversals, subsidy cuts, and new emissions standards for a collapse in EV demand.

A tsunami of bad news is hitting ideology-driven policies. German automakers are following suit, delaying EV plans, investing again in combustion engines, and hybridizing projects once intended to be fully electric. Porsche has reduced EV rollouts in favor of hybrids.

How long until the politically enforced ICE bans collapse under economic reality?

Medium-term, hybrids and efficient ICE engines are likely to win, as no one can decouple from the U.S. domestic market. Competitiveness, especially against Chinese rivals, demands this approach.

U.S. Market as Priority

The toxic mix of self-inflicted energy crises, restrictive green regulations, and fierce overseas competition has hit German automakers hardest. Production in Germany has fallen since 2019’s pre-pandemic levels: last year only about 4.15 million cars were produced, an 18% decline.

Manufacturers are increasingly shifting production to other European sites like Hungary, Poland, or the Czech Republic. The VDA reports roughly 55,000 jobs lost in the past two years due to production cuts in this still-critical industry.

Against this backdrop, Stellantis now prioritizes the U.S., where it operates 34 factories and employs 48,000 workers. Plans call for $13 billion in investments to return to growth, signaling Europe’s declining strategic importance in corporate planning.

Separate from the human toll of the Stellantis crisis, the case offers a stark glimpse into the devastation political-ideological systems can cause. The wider the gap between political ambitions of zero-emission mobility and market reality, the costlier the experiment. The classic intervention spiral gains momentum.

Germany’s government, meanwhile, is reactivating failed EV incentives with billions in taxpayer money — confirming the thesis.

It will be interesting to see the outcomes of European automakers’ strategic pivots when policymakers realize the industry no longer follows prescribed transformation logic. Sometimes, creating facts and moving beyond media-driven theater like crisis summits and subsidy promises is the only way forward. Even Germany’s transformation-entranced automotive bureaucrats are likely beginning to recognize this.

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About the author: Thomas Kolbe, a German graduate economist, has worked for over 25 years a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination