Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley sits in a Canadian-built Chrysler Pacifica minivan at the 2026 Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto on February 12, 2026.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
A decade ago, Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, was on a winning streak. As one of the top automakers in Canada, it held 15 per cent of the market share in 2015.
It was a much different story in 2025. Market share dropped to 6 per cent with sales falling across its core brands: Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram. Stellantis sold 115,115 vehicles in Canada – less than half of its nearly 300,000 vehicles sold in 2015. To compare, General Motors and Ford were the leaders, each selling about 300,000 vehicles.
Stellantis’s problems are many and largely self-inflicted: prioritizing profits, changes in leadership and ownership, an outdated portfolio of products, rising prices and few of the types of vehicles most Canadians buy.
However, with new management and a revamped pricing strategy and product portfolio, the tide may be shifting. The fourth quarter of 2025 saw three straight months of market-share gains and the momentum is continuing into the new year.
“January was a very strong month for us. If we play our cards right, we have a real opportunity to bring back some lustre to Jeep, Ram and some of these incredible brands that have been here for a long time,” said Trevor Longley, chief executive officer of Stellantis Canada, during an interview at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto in February. “We have a strong case to rebuild ourselves.”
What Stellantis has are a number of brands with name recognition and staying power. Dodge has been around for more than 125 years, Chrysler more than 100, Jeep more than 80, and Ram more than 40 years. And it has a deep history with Canada. Chrysler has been making vehicles in Windsor, Ont., for almost 100 years; some workers at the plant are the fifth generation in their family to work there.
But navigating these unprecedented, intensely volatile times – with high U.S. tariffs and rapid changes in regulations – makes business planning tough.
“We don’t have all the details,” he said, referring to new tailpipe regulations and electric vehicle incentives, “so it’s hard to plan for the future.”
Longley said the key is to be flexible and he is optimistic about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiations.
“I’m not sure anybody understands [the necessity of cross-border trade] more than us sitting in Windsor with the integration of our supply chain,” he said. “It’s painful the way it is. I do think we will get to a better spot than where we are with some clarity, but it may take time.”
Stellantis has a vast global presence with manufacturing facilities in 30 countries. In Windsor, Stellantis builds Chrysler minivans and Dodge Chargers. In February, it introduced a third shift, adding 1,700 workers to meet the growing demand for minivans.
But the future of the manufacturing plant in Brampton, Ont., isn’t as bright after production of the Jeep Compass moved to the United States because of tariff challenges and U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to build vehicles south of the border.
“We’re looking at future products that make sense for Brampton. If we wanted to close Brampton, we would have done that,” said Longley. “I’m optimistic. I see the opportunity. My entire life, vehicles have been produced in Brampton and I don’t want that to change. I want to find a way.”
With a large number of unsold Jeeps on dealer lots, Stellantis has significantly lowered prices and introduced aggressive incentives to buy.
The 2026 Jeep Gladiator, for example, costs $11,400 less compared with the 2025 model. Now, the Gladiator starts at $49,995, plus $2,195 for destination and delivery. And the redesigned made-in-Mexico 2026 Jeep Cherokee has returned after a three-year hiatus, starting at $39,995.
Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley pauses for a portrait in front of a Canadian-built Chrysler Pacifica minivan at the 2026 Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto on February 12, 2026.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
“We’re bringing affordability back” and vehicles customers want, said Longley. “We have Grand Caravan in Canada, which is something the U.S. doesn’t have because we want it to maintain a better price point [than the Pacifica] for Canadians.”
Citing slow sales, Stellantis discontinued its 4xe plug-in hybrids for 2026, including the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, opting to pivot toward hybrids and range-extender PHEVs.
“We’re 100-per-cent dedicated to focusing on electrification in the future so this shouldn’t be viewed as moving away from that,” said Longley. “We’re not going to build products consumers aren’t actively buying, so we’re going to find other solutions.”
Numerous brands now operate under the Stellantis umbrella, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, Lancia, Maserati, Opel/Vauxhall, Peugeot and Ram.
“We’re really focused on how we make each of the brands their authentic self. Sometimes, in the past, we had everything in each brand and now we’re really focusing,” he said. Hence, the Dodge Hornet has been dropped from the lineup and the gas-powered Dodge Charger Sixpack muscle car has joined the family. Longley described Dodge’s new core DNA as “bad-ass performance.”
Ram is reviving the 777-horsepower 1500 SRT Hellcat TRX after stopping development of a battery-electric pickup and replacing it with a V6-assisted range-extended truck.
Alfa Romeo’s marketing strategy is changing, too. “It’s a really cool brand and I feel it’s underappreciated. No one understands what they are,” said Longley. “We need to change that in the future. We need to find a new and interesting way to connect with consumers.”
Quality and reliability issues are huge challenges for Stellantis, too. In Consumer Reports 2026 annual reliability survey, Stellantis vehicles sat near the bottom of the list of 26 brands with Chrysler 22nd, Jeep 24th and Ram 25th.
But Longley said a recent hiring blitz of engineers in North America is helping to tackle the problem. “When you look at year-over-year improvement, our early indicators of quality that would be one or three months in service, we’re seeing 50-per-cent improvements year-over-year in these metrics, so we’re making a lot of progress.”
As for its future, Longley thinks Stellantis will still be “a house of brands” 10 years down the road. “There needs to be synergy between the brands – whether it’s power plants or electrification technology that bring cost savings while reflecting the uniqueness of the brands that resonates with different customers.”