So this was an interesting development that popped up after the ghastly Stellantis quarterly report last week.
That was where the company wrote down $26.5B - that's billion with a 'B' - in charges thanks to their miserably performing electric vehicle (EV) adventures.
The Ford/GM/Stellantis EV collapse is definitely stunning, but I don't think "Bubble Bursts" is correct. It wasn't really a "bubble"
— Maxwell Meyer (@mualphaxi) February 13, 2026
More like a... Puddle?
Detroit EV market never had any growth, was mostly just bad corporate decision making based on subsidy. Oh well pic.twitter.com/ykNYUtQ1c7
They diplomatically called it a 'reset, ' and CEO Antonio Filosa is manfully pretending he has a new team focused on what the customer wants, not what Stellantis has determined the customer will get.
Just brutal. The drubbing of legend.
If you want a case study in how chasing hype at the expense of your legacy business can blow up in your face, look no further than carmaker Stellantis $STLA.
— Dan Runkevicius (@danrunk) February 9, 2026
Since its now-infamous EV Day in July 2021, when the company promised an all-in pivot to electric vehicles, the stock has… pic.twitter.com/PchtNsp29y
Since its now-infamous EV Day in July 2021, when the company promised an all-in pivot to electric vehicles, the stock has lost roughly two-thirds of its value.
On Friday, Stellantis finally admitted defeat, taking a $26 billion hit to unwind much of that strategy. Although striking enough by sheer size, that number stands out for a reason…
… it’s almost as much as the company pledged to invest in its EV transformation back in 2021.
The silver lining is that it may also be the reset Stellantis needed.
What he didn't mention at the time of the gasp-inducing loss announcement was that his company had already begun tiptoing back into the diesel market on the QT earlier in 2025.
Car maker Stellantis is reportedly quietly resurrecting diesel versions of at least seven car and passenger van models across Europe as it retreats from electric vehicles, according to a review of dealer websites and company statements to Reuters.
In a previously unreported strategic shift, the company, which owns Chrysler, Fiat and Jeep, among others, began in late 2025 to reintroduce diesel versions in Europe for models ranging from various passenger vans to the Peugeot 308 and premium DS No. 4 hatchback.
The new administration in the United States has been a regulatory-relief boon for beleaguered automakers doing business in Europe.
...During a press conference, Trump said the repeal would lower the cost of vehicles by $2,400 on average. He called it the biggest deregulation in American history, and it follows his previous efforts to sever the legs of Biden’s EV mandate. In addition, in December, the Trump administration announced a proposed rulemaking to roll back the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, which limited emissions across automaker’s fleets.
The repeal of the endangerment finding also effectively ends the legal basis for Biden’s tailpipe emissions standards, which was the third leg of the former president’s EV mandate.
Last June, Trump signed three resolutions that repeal a waiver that allowed California to set more stringent emission standards than the federal government. Because many states were following suit, it would have helped sustain a de facto national EV mandate.
Donald Trump's undoing the damage of the Endangerment Finding last week and rolling back the arbitrary and restrictive Biden-era CAFE standards earlier didn't hurt a thing as far as the company's plans, allowing them to also beef up their powertrain offerings.
...The U.S., Stellantis’ main market, is also retreating from EVs under President Donald Trump, whose administration repealed a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, eliminating car and truck tailpipe emissions standards.
“We have decided to keep diesel engines in our product portfolio and — in some cases — to increase our powertrain offer,” Stellantis said. “At Stellantis we want to generate growth, that’s why we are focused on customer demand.”
As recently as 2015, diesel vehicles made up at least 50 percent of new-car sales in Europe, but they have been declining after Volkswagen and other automakers were found to have installed software to cheat emissions tests, triggering billions in fines and regulatory scrutiny.
According to data from European car lobby group ACEA, diesel vehicles made up just 7.7 percent of new-car sales across the continent in 2025, while full-electric cars accounted for 19.5 percent.
It also doesn't hurt that the company's chief EV rival in Europe - the Chinese - don't do diesels.
And Stellantis can do diesels cheap.
CHA-CHING
...But crucially, it is a segment where rising Chinese rivals specializing in EVs do not compete. Diesels also carry a much lower price tag than full-electric models, giving them a competitive advantage at a time carmakers are struggling.
Stellantis Feb. 6 announced €22 billion ($26 billion) in charges as it scales back its EV ambitions, sending its shares to their lowest since the group’s 2021 creation through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA.
The company previously said full-electric cars should make up 100 percent of its European sales and 50 percent of U.S. sales by 2030, but demand in both markets has fallen short of expectations.
Stellantis has already brought back popular combustion-engine models such as the Jeep Cherokee and its powerful Hemi eight-cylinder engine as part of its strategy to regain U.S. market share. Last year, it added a gasoline hybrid Fiat 500 alongside an electric version.
In Europe, Stellantis is reviving diesel versions of the Opel Combo, Peugeot Rifter, Citroen Berlingo small vans, and and others, Reuters found.
I can't imagine what will happen if the automaker can turn out what customers want and can afford.
Stellantis, the car giant behind brands including Vauxhall, Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot, is quietly bringing diesel cars back to Europe as it steps away from its previous all-out push towards electric vehicles. The shift comes as electric car sales have failed to live up to… pic.twitter.com/471cM0f8tO
— Net Zero Watch (@NetZeroWatch) February 17, 2026
Almost sounds crazy, doesn't it?
'At Stellantis, we want to generate growth; that's why we are focused on customer demand."
— Latimer Alder (@latimeralder) February 17, 2026
Making cars that please customers. Not cars that only please politcians
Good strategy! But why did they ever stop doing it?https://t.co/9IIqzNqoFy
Crazy.
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