Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigned from his position this weekend. The news was announced last nightSunday.
The executive's work had been questioned for some time, not least because of the worrying results of the group's American brands, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram.
A few weeks ago, Stellantis announced that Tavares' contract would not be renewed when it expired in early 2026, at which point he would retire. Clearly, there was a lot going on behind the scenes, which ultimately led to this announcement.
According to Bloomberg, the CEO's resignation is a result of a dispute with the Board of Directors over how to turn around the share price collapse. In the third quarter of this year, Stellantis’ sales plummeted by 27 percent, while worldwide deliveries fell by 20 percent. In North America, deliveries of new models are down a catastrophic 36 percent.
Stellantis has set up an interim executive committee to take over from Tavares until a new CEO is appointed “in the first half of 2025”. Chairman John Elkman will head the committee.
The work ahead is daunting. First, there's the financial situation to address. Recall that Stellantis sold its Arizona test site to reduce its debts. In the face of weak sales, production of certain models has sporadically been paused, notably the Fiat 500e. The launches of the Ram 1500 REV and Ram 1500 Ramcharger have been postponed.
And as Insideevs points out, other Group brands have their own financial challenges. Maserati is losing money, and Alfa Romeo has an aging model lineup and is struggling to attract buyers. Chrysler is down to offering just the two versions of its Pacifica minivan.
The reaction of the UAW (United Auto Workers) union, via its president Shawn Fain, is revealing about the state of mind prevailing in the industry. He called Carlos Tavares' departure “a major step in the right direction for a company that has been mismanaged and a workforce that has been mistreated for too long.”
A new era is thus beginning for Stellantis, and let's hope for all concerned that the situation will turn around.