Stellantis charged out of the blocks in its first ever half year results, boosting its full year profit margin guidance despite the current semiconductor shortage.

The car giant, which formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA in January, posted revenue of €8.6bn for the first half, smashing analyst predictions of €5.9bn.

It said that a combination of higher prices and cost savings had boosted profitability, despite losing 700,000 models to the semiconductor supply shortage.

As a result of the first half performance, Stellantis said that it was now aiming for a 10 per cent profit margin, up from the 5.5 -7.5 per cent it had previously targeted.

The company, whose brands also include Citroen, Dodge, Jeep and Maserati, said it made around €1.3bn in merger-related net cash savings in the first six months of the year.

In a statement, chief executive Carlos Tavares said: “I would like to thank warmly all Stellantis employees for their outstanding focus on operational excellence and synergies execution that have led the company to achieve very strong H1 financial results.

“While delivering this strong operational performance the Company also made significant progress on strategic matters related to electrification acceleration and software, which are fundamental pillars of our strategy.”

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