Changes in Stellantis management

French-Italian-American carmaker Stellantis NV confirmed late last week that CEO Carlos Tavares will retire at the end of his contract, i.e. at the beginning of 2026, while announcing significant management changes as a result of not having managed to recover operations in North America, DPA and Reuters report.

In this context, the shares of Stellantis recorded important decreases on Friday.

Confirmation of Tavares' retirement comes a few weeks after Stellantis announced he was looking for a successor, although at the time there was talk of him staying on after his contract expired. The world's fourth largest car manufacturer in terms of sales now wants to name Tavares' successor by the fourth quarter of 2025, notes Agerpres.

Stellantis has appointed Doug Ostermann, former COO of the China subsidiary, as CFO, replacing Natalie Knight, who is leaving the company. Antonio Filosa will also be the chief operating officer of the North American division, in addition to his duties as head of the Jeep brand.

Tavares, appreciated in recent years for making Stellantis one of the most profitable car manufacturers, has led the company since its creation in 2021, following the merger between Fiat-Chrysler and PSA, where he had been chairman of the board since 2014.

Last month, Stellantis cut its annual forecast amid higher costs to overhaul its US business and competition from China in the electric vehicle (EV) segment.

In September, Stellantis announced that he opposes any decision by the European Union to postpone the targets on car emissions, which are due to come into force in 2025. "It would be surreal to change the regulations now," he said in an interview with AFP , the CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares.

A spokesperson for Stellantis confirmed the statement and presented a company statement expressing support for maintaining the current rules. Stellantis called for the continuation of government subsidies for consumers who purchase electric vehicles.

"Everyone has known about these regulations for a long time and had time to prepare, so now is the time to have a competition," said Tavares, adding that Stellantis is prepared for the EV transition and has adopted measures to boost sales.

The Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) has prepared a proposal aimed at the adoption by the EU of emergency measures to delay by two years the objectives regarding car emissions, which are to come into force in 2025. The head of ACEA, Luca de Meo (who is the CEO of Renault SA), said he would like to see more flexibility from the EU on regulations.

ACEA's proposal, consulted by Bloomberg, estimates that in order to meet the objectives, car manufacturers will either stop the production of approximately two million cars, or face fines that could reach 13 billion euros for cars.