Stellantis has previously shown its tech-forward concepts at CES, but will not be there in 2024.
This week, the company that debuted its 4xe plug-in hybrid models and the Ram Revolution concept at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) announced it is cancelling its participation this coming January. In its public statement, the company cited “the costs of the ongoing UAW strikes” as the primary reason for pulling out of the world’s biggest technology show, and a forum in which automakers have increasingly shown off their electrified models as the industry invests heavily into new technology.
Stellantis also said it is “executing comprehensive countermeasures to mitigate financial impacts and preserve capital”…or in much more direct terms, to save money. As analysts have discussed over the past several weeks, the United Auto Workers’ strike against the Big Three automakers cost each one hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production (and, therefore, lost revenue).
This isn’t the only cost-saving measure the Netherlands-based automaker is considering. Since at least early 2022, Stellantis has considered options to sell its 500-acre campus in Auburn Hills, Michigan, where its U.S. arm (FCA US LLC) is headquartered, and then lease back only the space it needs from the prospective buyer. At the time, the company weighed its options in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent work-from-home boom, but the strike once again brought the issue of selling the HQ building to reduce its footprint and overhead.
The UAW strike is now in its fifth week, and there seems to be no imminent deal in sight for any of the Big Three automakers. While the union has most recently spared Stellantis from its expanding labor actions — like when workers suddenly struck Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant — that situation may change in the coming days, further impacting the company’s bottom line. Nearly 34,000 workers are on strike against the Big Three automakers, as well as other U.S. automotive manufacturers like Mack Trucks.
As for CES, the next iteration of the tech-focused event will be on January 9-12, 2024 in Las Vegas. The Ram Revolution concept ultimately morphed into the production-spec Ram 1500 REV, which you can check out below:
