Big Three automaker Stellantis (STLA) reported a weakening sales picture in the first quarter and followed rival GM in suspending its full-year guidance in light of President Trump's auto tariffs.

The brand behind Dodge, Ram, Jeep, and Fiat reported Q1 revenue of 35.8 billion euros ($40.7 billion) down 14% from a year ago, with global shipments hitting 1,217 million units, a 9% drop. The company reports profit and full financial metrics in its half-year and full-year results.

Stellantis said the revenue decline was primarily due to "lower volume, adverse regional mix and price normalization," while the drop in shipments was mainly due to lower production in North America as well as impacts of product transitions and decreased light commercial vehicle (LCV) volumes like its Sprinter vans in Europe.

Most importantly, Stellantis reported in its slide presentation that it would suspend 2025 financial guidance due to "tariff-related uncertainties including policy, market impacts, and the company's evolving response."

Stellantis stock was down 3% in early trade.

Stellantis has been in turmoil over the past year as its financial performance slipped due to high-priced vehicles selling poorly in North America and bloated inventories hurting its dealers. The company eventually replaced its CFO in mid-2024, and CEO Carlos Tavares exited in late 2024 due to disagreements with the board. The company said a new CEO would be appointed in the first half of 2025.

Chairman John Elkann took over as interim CEO after Tavares's departure, and the company took actions to reduce inventory by cutting prices and lowering production. The actions seem to be working, as Stellantis said US retail sales for certain Jeep vehicles and Ram pickups saw 10+% sales growth in Q1, with US retail order intake jumping 82% in March.

Read more about Stellantis's stock moves and today's market action.

"While Q1 2025 top-line results were below prior-year levels, other KPIs reflect early, initial progress on our commercial recovery efforts. North America is at a very early stage, with improvement in retail order intake, while we are seeing sequential improvement in [European] market share," CFO Doug Ostermann said in a statement.

From a tariff standpoint, Stellantis said last year 58% of the 1.2 million vehicles sold in the US were built in the States, with the "overwhelming majority" of parts being United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) compliant. The company said 95% of the vehicles imported for sale in the US were made in Canada and Mexico, making them USMCA compliant. However, that still doesn't exclude those imports from the 25% auto tariffs.

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The White House announced on Tuesday that it would ease the tariff burden on US manufacturers by "destacking" tariffs (meaning only the larger tariff applies) and providing offsets for certain parts that cannot be made in the US.

While the automakers like GM, Ford, and Stellantis are saying the right things about tweaks to US auto tariffs, the reality is likely not very good for how the companies are situated with a highly leveraged global supply chain, some analysts said.

Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs

"A US car with all US parts made in the US is a fictional tale not possible today and many factories/production hubs could take 4-5 years to build in the US ... and this speaks to the massive frustration from the industry as the rules of the US tariff game are untenable in our view," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note published early Wednesday.

Ives added: "Many US made US cars in the US have over 40% of auto parts from outside the US ... this speaks to the brutal situation facing many automakers today despite some of the 'tariff reprieve.'"

Big Three rival GM will hold its delayed analyst call tomorrow and is expected to shed more light on its forward guidance and what the tweaks to Trump's auto tariff structure mean to its business.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.

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