Stellantis’ first and only CEO, Carlos Tavares, resigned today. Although the auto conglomerate is in trouble, the announcement is still shocking. Less than two months ago, a press release stated that the controversial Portuguese businessman would end his five-year contract at the beginning of 2026. However, that will no longer be the case. Today the 66-year-old director decided to resign with immediate effect.
The search process for a replacement is already ‘in full swing’, which tells us that Stellantis is not too surprised that Tavares has quit. Until a successor is announced in the first half of 2025, the company will appoint a new interim executive committee chaired by John Elkann. He is the chairman, executive director and Ferrari chairman of Stellantis.
Tavares has been quite vocal in recent months and pointed out some wrong things within Stellantis. He blamed poor marketing for slow Maserati sales and pointed to quality problems at the Sterling Heights plant, where too many Ram trucks require repairs after they leave the assembly line. There’s also a problem with excess inventory, a problem the world’s fourth-largest automaker is trying to solve by better aligning production with demand.
In 2024, production disruptions affected many models due to poor demand, ranging from the small Fiat 500e to the mighty Dodge Durango. The list also includes Maserati’s GranTurismo/GranCabrio, Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Fiat Panda.
Jeep sales fell 8% in the United States in the third quarter of the year. Ram and Dodge are down 24%, and Chrysler is down 21%. Despite the launch of the Tonale, Alfa Romeo is not doing any better: a decline of 10%.
In September, the US Stellantis National Dealer Council sent an open letter to Tavares, accusing him of the “rapid degradation” of Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler. That was just the tip of the iceberg:
‘The market share of your brands has almost halved, Stellantis’ share price is plummeting, factories are closing, layoffs are increasing and key managers are fleeing the company. Investor lawsuits, supplier lawsuits, strikes – the consequences are piling up. distribution network, your dealer organization, has been left in a bloodless and diminished state.”
Weeks before he resigned, Tavares said struggling brands would have a few years to save themselves from extinction or sellouts. All fourteen brands under the Stellantis corporate umbrella are fully funded through 2026, so brands like Lancia and Chrysler are safe until then.
This is not the only important change within Stellantis in recent months. Two months ago, Santo Ficili was appointed CEO of Maserati and Alfa Romeo, replacing Davide Grasso and Jean-Philippe Imparato respectively. The latter was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) in Greater Europe and CEO of Pro One, the commercial side of Stellantis.