Long v. Stellantis N.V. et al

This is a securities fraud class action (the “Action”) asserting claims on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Stellantis N.V. (“Stellantis” or the “Company”) common stock between October 31, 2023 and September 27, 2024, inclusive (the “Class Period”), against Stellantis and certain of its senior executives (collectively, “Defendants”).

Stellantis is a multinational automobile manufacturing company which designs, manufactures, and sells vehicles across 14 brands, including Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler. Prior to the Class Period, Stellantis’ high-priced vehicles and aggressive cost-cutting measures enabled the Company to generate greater margins than its competitors.

The action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants consistently assured investors that the Company’s high margins were secured through a “carefully calibrated” and “sustainable” pricing strategy and “significantly tightened” inventory levels, which supported “healthy” profitability. Propelled by these and similar misrepresentations, Stellantis’ stock price hit an all-time high of $29.40 in March of 2024.

In truth, Defendants had raised the prices of Stellantis vehicles to unsustainably high levels and stuffed the channel by forcing U.S. car dealerships to accept massive amounts of inventory that they could not sell. While Defendants’ tactics reduced customer demand and resulted in levels of inventory that were out of control, they allowed Defendants to continue to report double-digit margins to investors in the short term.

Indeed, the National Dealership Council, a national body representing independent Stellantis dealers in the United States, later stated in an open letter to Defendant Tavares issued shortly before the end of the Class Period – that for two years dealers had been “sounding the alarm” to Stellantis executives that their “short term” “engineering” of profitability was unsustainable and had resulted in the accumulation of overpriced inventory, loss of market share, and “degradation” of the Company’s brands.

Stellantis’ temporarily inflated margins personally and directly benefited Defendant Tavares, whose record-breaking compensation heavily depended on reporting margins above 10 percent.

The truth was revealed through a series of partial disclosures beginning on April 30, 2024, when Stellantis disclosed a staggering 20% decline in shipments and significant market share loss in North America and issued margin guidance that was significantly below expectations. Then, on June 13, July 25, and September 30, 2024, Defendants announced further increases in inventories, a steepening decline in revenues and, ultimately, that the Company would not achieve the double-digit margins it had promised investors in 2024. All told, these disclosures erased more than $28.6 billion in market capitalization, causing significant damage to investors.

On March 31, 2025, Lead Plaintiff Boston Retirement System filed the Amended Class Action Complaint. Defendants are scheduled to respond to the Amended Complaint on June 30.