MILAN, July 13 (Reuters) - Stellantis said on Monday preliminary second-quarter vehicle shipments rose 10% from a year earlier to nearly 1.6 million units, driven by strong growth in North America, its most important market.
In North America, Stellantis vehicle shipments rose 38% in the second quarter to 445,000 units, supported by new or refreshed models, including the Ram 1500 8-cylinder light-duty truck and its high-performance, off-road TRX SRT version, and refreshed Jeep's Grand Wagoneer and Grand Cherokee
and Chrysler Pacifica.
The result in North America also reflects preparations for the planned summer production shutdown, the automaker said in a statement.
In its Enlarged Europe region, the group's other most relevant market, shipments rose 5% to 762,000 units, "supported by higher industry volumes". The figure includes some 33,000 vehicles of Chinese partner Leapmotor, which Stellantis distributes and sells in the region.
Demand in Europe was particularly strong for budget models, such as the Citroen C3 and C3 Aircross, Opel Frontera and Fiat Panda, Stellantis said.
Growth in North America and Europe was partially offset by lower volumes in the Middle East and Africa region, "largely due to the regional conflict", and in South America, weighed by a weaker performance of the Argentine market.
Stellantis will report full second-quarter results on July 30.
($1 = 0.8772 euros)
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Louise Heavens)
