Stellantis Announces FaSTLAne 2030

Stellantis held its first investor day since the departure of its founding CEO, Carlos Tavares, at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Tavares left in late 2024 as the company struggled with declining quality, shrinking profits, and the challenge of launching electric vehicles globally. Since then, his successor, Antonio Filosa, has been revamping the executive team and developing a new five-year strategic plan called FaSTLAne 2030 to try to get the company back on track.

How Did Stellantis Unravel?

When the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merged in 2021, Stellantis inherited 14 brands and immediately set aggressive EV targets. Tavares announced that, by 2030, Europe would reach 100% electric sales and North America would reach 50%. Huge investments were made in battery plants and the production of EV components and technologies. 

Unfortunately for Stellantis, this plan fell apart on multiple fronts. In North America, it was politics, high costs, and underwhelming products. Vehicles like the Jeep Wagoneer S and electric Dodge Charger were being ignored (or worse) by the brands' traditional customer base. Meanwhile, the existing models that were actually generating revenue went without updates, and sales declined. In Europe, the company had too many brands that were competing directly with each other.

Stellantis' New Plan: €60 Billion, 60 New Vehicles, 50 Refreshes

Stellantis will invest €60 billion through 2030 to upgrade its product lineup. Sixty percent, or €36 billion, will go directly to products and brands, funding 60 all-new vehicles and major refreshes on 50 more over the next five years. The other €24 billion will fund the development of new global platforms, powertrains, and technologies, including the STLA Brain electronic architecture, STLA SmartCockpit, STLA AutoDrive automated driving technology, and AI integration across the board.

There has been much speculation about Stellantis dispensing with some of its underperforming brands, and the company did announce it will refocus its efforts on its four strongest global brands — Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Fiat — plus its Pro One commercial vehicle business. Those brands are expected to get the lion's share of the investment. Five others — Chrysler, Dodge, Citroen, Opel, and Alfa Romeo — will be redesignated as regional brands. DS and Lancia, which have never been sold outside of Europe, will be folded into Citroen and Fiat, respectively. Maserati will also continue and get two new E-segment models. A more detailed plan for the Italian brand will be announced by the end of the year. 

Stellantis is simplifying its platforms. The STLA Frame (Ram trucks, Jeep Grand Wagoneer) and the LCV platform (Ram Promaster and Promaster City vans) will carry on. The three multi-energy platforms Stellantis announced when it debuted — the STLA Small, Medium, and Large — are being consolidated into a single, more modular architecture called STLA One. STLA will cover everything from sub-compact to larger midsize vehicles and is expected to underpin half of the vehicles produced globally. 

What's New in North America: Brand by Brand

Since the 1990s, Jeep and Ram have had the most sales and most of the profits. During much of the DaimlerChrysler and later Fiat Chrysler eras, these were the cash cows for the business and that remained true at the beginning of the Stellantis period. But those brands have suffered from declining quality and sales. Meanwhile, as crossovers and SUVs took over much of the American market, cars were gradually eliminated from the lineup, hurting Dodge and especially Chrysler. 

Chrysler

Fiat Grizzly platform that the Chrysler Arrow is based on.

Chrysler, one of the brands many thought would be killed off, survives, and may finally grow. The Pacifica minivan, Chrysler's only model, will be joined by three smaller utility vehicles: the midsize Airflow built on STLA One and two smaller models, the Arrow and Arrow Cross, on an updated version of a current European platform. The Arrow and Arrow Cross will be based on the upcoming Fiat Grizzly, but with Chrysler-style lighting, and both will have a starting price under $30,000. These will also be multi-energy vehicles with more efficient combustion engines, more hybrids, and possibly EVs. Stellantis hopes these will grow Chrysler sales by 60%. 

Fiat Grizzly Cross that the Chrysler Arrow Cross is based on.

Dodge

During the 2010s, Dodge transformed into a muscle car brand, with the Charger and Challenger powered by supercharged Hellcat V8s. When Dodge launched a new electric Charger in 2024, those muscle car customers were uninterested, so the brand is leaning hard into combustion. It added the 3.0-liter Hurricane six-cylinder engine to the Charger and extended production of the Durango SUV, including the Hellcat V8-powered version, despite its plans to discontinue it. It will also add a midsize crossover it labeled as GLH, a throwback to the Omni GLH of the 1980s when GLH stood for “Goes Like Hell.” During a private behind-the-scenes briefing in the design studio, we were also shown an upcoming sports car that is a spiritual successor to the late Dodge Viper. The new car is called Copperhead, a name last used on a roadster concept in 1997, and the very aggressive machine has design features from the Viper, but likely uses a modified version of the platform from the Charger. 

Dodge Copperhead

Jeep

Jeep recently launched the midsize Cherokee crossover with an all-new hybrid powertrain, which is expected to spread across the lineup. The long-delayed Recon off-road EV will also gain a combustion option. A Grand Wagoneer with Stellantis' extended-range EV system is due before the end of 2026, followed by next-generation versions of the Wrangler and Gladiator and a new Wrangler Scrambler. The Scrambler is a two-door SUV with a removable rear roof section similar to the first-generation Toyota 4Runner. It’s shorter than the existing Gladiator pickup and features a shark-nose front end reminiscent of the 1970s J10 pickup. 

Ram

Ram cancelled its battery-electric Ram 1500 after watching rival electric trucks fail in the market, pivoting to an extended-range EV (EREV) instead. However, that launch has been delayed and may not arrive until 2027, partly due to Ram's decision to relaunch V8 engines, including the newly announced Rumble Bee muscle trucks. A full-size body-on-frame SUV with an EREV powertrain is also planned. 

Ram is also expanding its lineup with three other new models. The midsize Promaster City van was unveiled in April at the New York Auto Show, but two more pickup trucks are coming: the midsize Dakota is expected to debut in 2028, and the compact Rampage — similar to the front-drive model already sold in South America — should arrive before 2030 with the hybrid powertrain from the Cherokee. 

Stellantis currently offers just two models priced under $39,000 in North America. By 2030, the target is nine models below that price, with two under $29,000.

Next-Generation EVs

A key element of the STLA platform strategy is enabling next-generation, lower-cost EVs. Much of this will come from its partnership with LeapMotor, which Stellantis owns about 20% of and has a European joint venture with for production in Spain and sales across Europe. 

Cost reductions hinge on two moves. First, a shift to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are at least 30% cheaper than the nickel-rich batteries the company uses today. Second, a cell-to-body architecture that eliminates the traditional battery pack case and puts the cells directly into the bottom of the vehicle body. This significantly reduces the number of parts needed, makes assembly easier, and slashes the total cost of the battery system by up to 50%. This approach is already widely used in China and should help Stellantis be more competitive in the rest of the world. 

Future Stellantis vehicles will also adopt the new STLA Brain electronic architecture that halves the number of electronic control units and enables over-the-air updates. It’s launching on European models in 2027 and arrives in North America in 2028. STLA Brain will also enable a new steer-by-wire system and STLA AutoDrive, developed in partnership with Wayve, to expand highway hands-off driving starting in 2027, followed by Level 2++ supervised door-to-door hands-free driving in 2028. 

An Ambitious Course Correction

Stellantis has some big plans to revamp the business in the next five years. EVs will remain a small fraction of North American sales for now, but Stellantis may finally offer something more affordable, expand its hybrid offerings significantly, and bring more advanced technology to market.