Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) opened 2026 on a positive footing, outperforming the broader European automotive market. While overall car registrations across Europe (EU+EFTA+UK) declined by 3.5%, the Italian-French carmaker recorded a 6.7% increase in sales, lifting its market share to 17.1% from 15.5% a year earlier.
Data published by ACEA showed that, within the European Union alone, registrations reached 145,750 vehicles, representing a 9.1% year-on-year increase. Stellantis’ market share in the EU rose to 18.2%, compared with 16.1% in the same period last year.
Performance varied across brands. Peugeot registrations fell 2.9% to 53,799 units, while Opel/Vauxhall rose 12.7% to 32,054 and Citroën gained 14% to 31,039. Fiat delivered one of the strongest performances, climbing 24.6% to 29,415 units. Jeep declined 4.9% to 10,484 vehicles, Alfa Romeo slipped 1.8% to 4,278, DS dropped 16.8% to 1,823, and Lancia/Chrysler advanced 22% to 1,283 units.
On the Milan exchange, Stellantis shares opened more than 2% higher, ranking among the top performers on the FTSE MIB index, which was down 0.40%, with the stock trading at €6.655.
The broader European Union market slowed after six consecutive months of growth, with total registrations reaching 799,625 vehicles, down 3.9% year-on-year. Across Western Europe — including EFTA countries (Switzerland, Iceland and Norway) and the United Kingdom — sales declined by 3.5%.
National markets showed mixed trends. Italy posted a 6.2% increase and Spain grew 1.1%, both outperforming the regional trend, while France and Germany each recorded declines of 6.6%.
By powertrain, fully electric vehicles continued to expand in the EU, with registrations rising 24.2%, although they still represent a relatively small portion of total sales. Plug-in hybrids grew even faster, up 28.7%, while hybrid electric vehicles increased more modestly by 6.2%. Traditional internal combustion vehicles continued to lose ground, with petrol car registrations falling 28.2% and diesel down 22.3%.
Among major competitors, the Volkswagen Group — including Audi and Porsche — saw sales decline 3.7% but increased market share to 27.5%. Renault recorded a sharper drop of 16.7%, with its market share slipping to 9.4%. In the premium segment, Mercedes-Benz reported a 4% increase in sales, although its market share eased to 4.5%, while BMW Group (including Mini) saw volumes fall 3.3% even as market share rose to 6.7%.
Tesla continued to slow, though the pace of decline moderated, with registrations down 1.6% to 7,187 units and market share unchanged at 0.9%. In contrast, Chinese manufacturer BYD posted strong growth, with registrations surging about 175% to 13,982 units, lifting its market share to 1.7%.