Stellantis put lost sales due to the strike by its US workers -- now over -- at 3 billion euros
Stellantis put lost sales due to the strike by its US workers -- now over -- at 3 billion euros AFP

Automaker Stellantis confirmed Tuesday its 2023 outlook thanks to a jump in third quarter revenue despite a costly strike in the United States.

The French-Italian-US automaker said revenue rose by 7 percent compared to the July-September period last year to 45.1 billion euros ($47.9 billion), beating analyst expectations.

The company said that the more than month-long strike by staff in the United States, which has ended following a tentative agreement struck Saturday, had a negative impact of around 3 billion euros on revenue compared to planned production.

But even in the United States, where the company earns about half of its revenue with its Chrysler and Jeep brands, sales volumes rose by 7 percent with revenue rising by 2 percent.

Overall shipments -- a proxy for unit sales -- rose by 11 percent from the same period last year -- to just over 1.4 million vehicles.

Shipments of battery electric vehicles rose by 37 percent, with the Jeep Avenger proving popular among consumers and a Citroen van enticing businesses in Europe.

Stellantis aims to shift to 100 percent battery electric vehicles for consumers in Europe by 2030, and for them to account for 50 percent of sales in the US car and light pick-up truck segments.

The company whose large stable of brands also includes Peugeot in France, Italy's Fiat and Alfa Romeo and Germany's Opel, confimed its 2023 outlook of a double-digit adjusted operating margin and a positive cash flow from its manufacturing operations.