Belgian car dealers warn Stellantis amid plunging sales and quality issues 

Belgian dealers of major Stellantis brands, including Peugeot, Citroën, Opel and Fiat, have issued an urgent appeal to their parent company. Declining sales, quality concerns and changes in dealership structures are putting the group’s future in Belgium at risk, De Tijd reported on Tuesday.

In a letter directed to Stellantis Europe head Jean-Philippe Imparato, the Belgian dealers of Stellantis Retailer Association Benelux voiced concerns over falling sales figures. In September alone, car sales in Europe dropped by 6 per cent, equating to 53,000 fewer units sold than the previous year, with Stellantis accounting for most of this decline.

The association warns that the Stellantis brand’s shrinking market share, sharper price increases compared to competitors, ongoing quality issues and challenges in implementing a new dealership model threaten the group’s viability in Belgium.

While many dealers acknowledge the potential benefits of Stellantis’ new “agency model”, where clients buy directly from Stellantis instead of from the dealer, they cite issues with the model’s rollout, including ongoing IT system failures and administrative transitions.

Some Belgian dealers, speaking anonymously, also criticised the company’s response to internal feedback, describing it as punitive toward those who voice concerns.

With the letter, Belgian dealers follow in the footsteps of their American and German colleagues. Last month, US dealers of Stellantis brands including Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram, wrote a letter to the group’s CEO, Carlos Tavares, to voice their concerns about declining sales and ruined dealer networks, In Germany, the association of dealers is falling apart even though the new agency model has not been implemented yet.

^{A Peugeot car at the Brussels Motor Show in 2019 © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE}