Toronto, Ontario — In this weekly Tuesday Ticker, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares warns of impending brand reviews, while potential Tesla buyers in Canada weigh their options after the automaker ups fees.
Prepare for review
Stellantis will review the performance of its brands in the next two to three years to determine whether to reduce the size of its portfolio, according to CEO Carlos Tavares.
“We will review each brand’s performance at about two-thirds of the way through the Dare Forwad 2030 plan, so you could expect decisions in two to three years,” said Tavares Oct. 14 at the Paris Auto Show.
He did not comment on any individual brands. When Stellantis formed in 2021, Tavares insisted that each of the OEM’s 14 brands would have a ten-year grace period of financing—though, if brands are eligible for review and decisions are to be made by 2026, it appears that “grace period” was only five years, analysts argue.
As of 3 p.m. ET Monday, shares of Stellantis traded at €11.93 per share (CAD$17.85).
Tesla’s ‘tariffs’
Potential Tesla buyers in Canada are reconsidering their buying plans after the OEM increased its destination and documentation fee for all vehicle models by 33 percent.
The destination and documentation fee is a mandatory charge added to the price of any new vehicle sold in Canada. The destination fee covers transportation costs—fees associated with moving the vehicle from the factory to the dealership or delivery location—and the documentation charge covers administrative tasks.
This non-negotiable fee varies from OEM to OEM and can add up to a few thousand dollars to a vehicle’s purchase price. The Cybertruck, for example, has its own destination and documentation fee of $2,750, according to Drive Tesla Canada.
Tesla has not explained the reason for the sudden increase, though some speculate this could be a response to Canada’s recent decision to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. While the electric OEM is avoiding these tariffs by instead supplying the Canadian market with vehicles from its U.S. factories, the switch came with added fees that analysts suspect Tesla is trying to recoup.
The last time Tesla raised its destination and documentation fee was in May 2022, when fees were adjusted from $1,280 to $1,880.
As of Monday at 3 p.m. ET, shares of Tesla traded at US$217.86, down 12.29 percent year-to-date.
