February 6, 2026
TLDR: Stellantis U.S. sales chief Jeff Kommor told NADA dealers the company is targeting 1.15 million retail sales in 2026, a 25% increase, backed by $400 per unit in Tier 3 ad support and a product blitz including the Jeep Cherokee, Recon, and Dodge Charger SIXPACK. The target lands in the same news cycle as the company’s record €22.2 billion writedown.
There’s corporate confidence and then there’s whatever happened at the NADA Show on February 5. Stellantis U.S. sales chief Jeff Kommor stood before a dealer body that has watched seven consecutive years of sales decline and told them “excuses are over. There are no more excuses.” The target: 1.15 million retail sales in 2026, representing a 25% jump over 2025.
One day later, Stellantis disclosed the largest EV writedown in automotive history.
The Math Problem
Stellantis finished 2025 with 1.26 million total U.S. sales, down 3.5%. But that total includes fleet. Kommor’s 1.15 million target is retail only, which means the actual volume increase required is even steeper than the headline number suggests. To hit that retail figure, Stellantis needs to reverse a market share collapse that has taken the company from 12.5% in 2020 to roughly 8% today.
Kommor backed the target with what Stellantis called “historical, best-ever” advertising support. Local Tier 3 ad support jumps from $250 to $400 per unit. CEO Antonio Filosa addressed dealers via video. The messaging was clear: the product is coming, the money is there, and it’s time for dealers to deliver.
The Product Pipeline
Give Stellantis credit for this much: the 2026 and 2027 pipeline is real. The Jeep Cherokee returns after a two-year hiatus, filling a gap that left dealers without a mainstream compact SUV during the segment’s hottest stretch. The Jeep Recon targets the off-road adventure market with a BEV powertrain. The Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer get refreshes. The Dodge Charger SIXPACK injects performance credibility that the brand desperately needs after the polarizing electric Charger launch.
The pivot from plug-in hybrids to conventional hybrids across the lineup is the most strategically significant move. Consumers have spoken clearly: they want electric assistance without range anxiety and charging infrastructure dependence. Every brand that’s leaning into conventional hybrids, from Toyota to BMW, is outperforming those that pushed pure BEV or PHEV-only strategies.
But execution timelines matter. The Cherokee isn’t arriving tomorrow. The Recon has had development challenges. The Charger SIXPACK needs to prove its volume potential beyond enthusiast buyers. Dealers heard a compelling product story, but they’ve heard compelling product stories from Stellantis before.
The Dealer Sentiment Disconnect
Talk to Stellantis dealers at NADA and the mood was cautious optimism at best. They’ve lived through Carlos Tavares’s margin obsession that starved their showrooms of competitive product. They’ve watched Ram pickup sales decline from 633,694 units in 2019 to 373,120 in 2024, a 41% collapse that devastated truck-heavy stores. They’ve seen Jeep inventory bloat to 90 days’ supply while Toyota sits at 25.
The $400 per unit Tier 3 support is real money, roughly $460 million in marketing investment if Stellantis hits its retail target. But dealers know that advertising can’t sell vehicles that don’t exist on the lot in the right mix, at the right price, with the right features. Consumer Reports ranks Jeep dead last in reliability out of 31 brands, and Ram 1500 pricing has climbed 45% in five years. The advertising support only works if the product pipeline delivers on time and the vehicles are priced to compete with a Toyota lineup that’s gaining share every single month.
The Juxtaposition
Here’s what makes this week extraordinary. On February 5, Stellantis told dealers to stop making excuses and sell 25% more vehicles. On February 6, Stellantis disclosed $26.5 billion in writedowns, suspended its dividend, and announced plans to raise €5 billion in emergency hybrid bonds. The stock cratered 27%.
Those two messages aren’t contradictory, but they demand an uncomfortable level of cognitive dissonance from dealers being asked to invest their own capital in expanded inventory, marketing, and facility upgrades. A dealer hearing “excuses are over” on Tuesday and “we lost $21 billion in six months” on Wednesday could be forgiven for wondering which Stellantis to believe.
Can 25% Actually Happen?
The honest answer is probably not, at least not in a single year. A 25% retail volume increase would require Stellantis to add roughly 230,000 retail units in a market where the January SAAR just hit 14.9 million, the lowest in three years. Average monthly payments sit at $785. Subprime delinquencies are at 30-year highs. The macroeconomic environment punishes exactly the affordability-constrained consumers who populate Stellantis brand showrooms.
A 10 to 15% retail increase is realistic if the Cherokee, Charger SIXPACK, and refreshed Grand Cherokee all execute on schedule. That would still represent meaningful progress and prove to dealers that the new leadership team can deliver. But 25% in this economy, with this balance sheet, against this competitive set? That’s not a target. That’s a negotiating position.
Stellantis dealers need the company to stop setting aspirational targets and start hitting achievable ones. After seven years of decline and $26.5 billion in writedowns, what dealers actually need isn’t motivation. It’s product, on time, priced right, and built well. Everything else is just another excuse.
