Stellantis NV said Wednesday its global shipments in the first quarter grew 12% year-over-year to about 1.4 million vehicles — a welcome sign for the transatlantic automaker as it seeks to bounce back from a tough 2025.

Shipments surged 17% to 379,000 vehicles in North America. CEO Antonio Filosa is especially focused on fixing that region that includes the highly profitable U.S. market after sales and profits plummeted there over the last couple of years.

The North American shipment increase of more than 50,000 vehicles was due to more Hemi V8-powered Ram 1500 pickups, new Jeep Cherokee SUVs, and refreshed Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUVs heading out the door over the quarter, the company said. The surge was offset by lower shipments of the Jeep Compass crossover, due to the ramp-up of production of the Cherokee last quarter at the plant where both models are built in Toluca, Mexico.

In Europe, shipments grew by 12% or 69,000 vehicles compared to a year prior. Among the big increases in the region were for Leapmotor-branded vehicles with 22,000 more shipped. Stellantis has a joint-venture with the Chinese electric vehicle maker to sell the cars internationally.

Shipments in all of the country's regions grew in the first quarter. But the automaker noted that in six Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, shipments decreased by more than half amid the war in Iran.

The positive shipment results signal the company is headed in the right direction after sales began to start turning around in the second half of last year. In the United States, quarterly sales grew 4% year-over-year thanks to especially strong Ram sales.

Filosa is set to reveal a new strategic plan for the company at an investor day in Auburn Hills on May 21.

©2026 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.