Standard & Poor's on Tuesday cut Stellantis' rating to BBB- from BBB while maintaining a negative outlook.
    "The negative outlook reflects the risk that strong competition, the increasing share of battery-electric vehicles in Europe—which are reducing margins—and a slower-than-expected volume recovery or higher costs in North America could prevent Stellantis from achieving an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 7% and a free operating cash flow-to-sales ratio well above 1% by the end of 2027," S&P said.
    The other major US ratings agency, Moody's, said Tuesday that it has downgraded Stellantis's rating to Baa3.
    The agency said the outlook for the Italian-French-American group, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler, was stable.
    It said the downgrade "was driven by the release of the company's preliminary 2025 results, which indicate a significant downward revision to profitability and cash flows for 2025 and beyond, compared to our expectations." Stellantis said Friday that it was making a 22-billion-euro write-down on its balance sheet because it overestimated the pace of the transition towards electric vehicles, adding that it will not pay dividends this year because of the hit.

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