STELLANTIS chief executive officer Carlos Tavares is stepping down after profit slumped and US sales weakened at the maker of Jeep SUVs and Fiat cars, which will be run by an interim committee headed by chairman John Elkann.
A new CEO will be named in the first half of 2025, the company said in a statement, confirming a Bloomberg News report of Tavares’s resignation earlier Sunday (Nov Dec 1).
Tavares is leaving his position sooner than expected as his views on the carmaker’s future differed from those of the board and some shareholders, according to the statement. The company confirmed its financial guidance for the year.
Bloomberg News reported in October that Elkann had begun a process to find a successor to Tavares. The CEO later said he would stay on until the end of his mandate in early 2026.
Tavares is one of a number of industry executives who have come under pressure as carmakers confront a slumping market that’s struggling with an economic slowdown in China, flagging demand for electric vehicles in Europe and the threat of tariffs as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House. Nissan Motor chief financial officer Stephen Ma is also set to step down, sources with knowledge of the matter said over the weekend.
Tavares, known for his ability to cut costs, in recent weeks was trying to regain control after setbacks that led the automaker to slash expectations for full-year profit and cash flow in late September. While European rivals such as Volkswagen are also struggling with weak demand, the magnitude of Stellantis’s warning raised concerns among shareholders.
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Shares slide
Stellantis shares are down 38 per cent in the past 12 months.
Investors, dealers and unions took Tavares to task recently in months over sliding sales, a dated US vehicle lineup and bloated inventory, resulting in the September profit warning. While Tavares pledged fixes and moved to replace his finance chief and other executives, market share continued to decline in key markets including France, fuelling concerns over the carmaker’s long-term prospects.
After rising through the ranks at Renault under cost-cutting champion Carlos Ghosn, Tavares, 66, long impressed investors with his ability to turn around ailing automakers where others failed.
He was on track to repeat that success early on as CEO of Stellantis, reducing the number of vehicle platforms and eliminating jobs. Tensions escalated in recent months, with unions warning that the company’s cost-cutting course was leading to quality problems and delays in the rollout of key new models. In the US, dealers accused Tavares of damaging brands such as Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Chrysler. BLOOMBERG
