Reuters reports that Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has abruptly resigned from the top job at the world’s fourth-largest automaker, effective immediately. The surprise resignation comes after a dispute with the company’s board over strategy for fixing its weak sales and stock price. An interim committee led by Chairman John Elkann will take the reins as it searches for Tavares’s replacement, which is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2025.
“The Company’s Board of Directors, under the Chairmanship of John Elkann, accepted Carlos Tavares’ resignation today from his role as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect,” Stellantis said in a statement on Sunday.
Chrysler Halcyon concept
“Stellantis’ success since its creation has been rooted in a perfect alignment between the reference shareholders, the board, and the CEO,” Stellantis Senior Independent Director Henri de Castries said in the statement. “However, in recent weeks, different views have emerged, which have resulted in the board and the CEO coming to today’s decision.”
Tavares has been the CEO of Stellantis since its founding in 2021 when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) merged with Peugeot S.A. (PSA). Previously, Tavares was President of the PSA managing board and CEO of PSA. The Stellantis portfolio comprises 14 brands, including American brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, as well as former GM properties Opel and Vauxhall.
Former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and former FCA CEO Mike Manley
Stellantis’s struggles over the past year have been well-documented, highlighted by slumping sales and soaring inventory in the North American market. Automotive News reports that according to data from the car-shopping app CoPilot, the Ram 1500 and Jeep Wagoneer have 112 days supply on dealer lots, which is 20 days higher than the Chevy Silverado and Ford Expedition.
Tavares announced a profit warning on its 2024 results back in September, highlighted by a forecast cash burn of up to $10.6 billion, primarily due to the aforementioned problems in North America.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
Tavares made a stir in July when he bluntly stated that unprofitable brands in the crowded Stellantis portfolio would be shut down if they didn’t produce positive results. “If they don’t make money, we’ll shut them down,” Tavares said at the time. “We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money.” After a long-shot attempt by Walter Chrysler’s great-grandson to bring the Chrysler and Dodge brands back under American ownership, Stellantis confirmed that they weren’t for sale.
Comments
This is awesome news!!! Stellantis needs to get back to their V8s immediately.
V8s aren’t the reason cars that never had V8s aren’t moving off the lots.
They definitely have more than just one problem right now.
when you cant sell 1/2 ton trucks cause no hemi, is a main problem
Not enough V8s is not even close
to being the issue with Stellantis right now.
In fact, putting their resources into adding more V8s would be akin to brushing your teeth when you’ve lost your leg.
You still need your teeth to eat man. No sense in saving your leg if you can’t eat.
Huh?
Huh?
Strategy disputes? I wasn’t aware they had a strategy at all to begin with. Atleast from where I am standing as a spectator, I saw ZERO direction out of them.
YES!! Hopefully whoever gets the job is actually competent and makes a 4th gen Hemi.
FCA should separate from PSA.
Redundancy is what is killing them. Too many so-so brands tripping over each other.
Not having a Hemi is not the issue. The issue is the ridiculous prices on cars period. A V8 would only make them even more unaffordable.
The hemi is cheaper to build than the 3.0 hurricane. All they need to do is change the head design to accept Direct injection and pull out old tools to make it again and for practically no investment, boom, cheaper, more powerful engine, can sell for less.
I drove through my local CDJR dealership and there were no customers, Stellantis has gotten rid of there most affordable line up of cars, small suv’s and muscle cars, all that was on the lot are $$$$ trucks and $$$$ Jeeps, not everyone including me can no longer afford their line up !!!
Trying to turn Jeep into a luxury brand was baffling. Jeep lost their core buyers who wanted inexpensive Wranglers, not $100,000+ Grand Wagoneers . High end SUV buyers had other options that had better quality and fewer recalls. Wranglers cost more than longtime core buyers could afford. The same is true for Ram 1500s.
Overall, Stellantis needs to start making affordable quality products that potential buyers want, or they will go bankrupt, taking dealers down with them.
The way to start is to put an American “car guy” in the CEO chair.
This may represent a second chance for GM to buy the Jeep brand. They largely ignored doing just that in the 80s and deep inside, they probably regret it. Stellantis needs a lot of money and soon. They’re better off staying abroad with Fiat and Renault. GM needs more than the Corvette for image building and EV Hummers aren’t doing it simply because of price.
As far as what goes and what stays, the Wrangler two and four doors along with the Grand Cherokee are the must keeps. The rest ?
gm would just a damn battery in it, just like the hummer and vet.
And try to turn it into another Karen crossover.
Good idea except GM would just take their vehicles and slap a Jeep badge on it with new tail lights.
No, they would just destroy the brand much like they did with Sabb and the first iteration of Hummer.
Good riddance. His entire modus operandi was to raise prices and cut costs to the bone to boost near term margins inevitably resulting in shrinking sales and share in every market they sold vehicles in. Not to mention causing long term damage to their brands.
Basically he was little more than shortsighted bean counter who was clueless about the product and market side of the business.
Geeze, that sounds like another automakers we all know and love.
The implication was subtle and strictly intentional.
He was pushed out. Deservedly. Only issue I’m going to have is the severance package which probably involves an island purchase and being renamed “Tavares Island”, for his retirement.
Mary and Jim, you’re both next up. Maybe Nissan and VW MIGHT beat you by a month or 2.
GOOD!!! His finally leaving was long overdue. He was/is inept and incompetent in his role almost killing the Chrysler and Jeep brands. Good riddance, fool!. 👎👎
Maybe it’s contagious.
Let’s face it folks. GM, Ford, Dodge, Jeep and Toyota all have to many trims to choose from which keeps the cost of these vehicles far higher than they have to be. With all the trim levels and models, these companies have too many parts to stock. Give all trucks buyers a V8 choice if a person wants and drop some of the models. Look how many Wrangler models are out there. Half of them could be dropped and so would production cost therefore these companies could market their vehicles at a lesser cost to the consumer. Just my obvious opinion. Vehicles are backing up on dealers lots because of the ridiculous prices.
None of this is any surprise. When they took Jeep, Ram and Chrysler way upmarket with some costing over 100K with so so quality control, the bread and butter V8 killed off, deleted the still popular Charger, Challenger and 300 and offer very little for the average buyer that is looking for something in the mid 20K range it was little surprise this company is such a mess. They are way too top heavy and need to come back down to earth.
Bought a nicely( auto, windows, locks, cruise, side curtain airbags, running boards, posi, class 3 receiver, and more) equipped Wrangler Unlimited Sport in 2013. Cost $28, 400 plus tax. A comparably equipped 2024 approaches 50K. Calculating for inflation and dollar indexing, that isn’t possible. It should be the low 40s.
It’s corporate greed, plain and simple.