A Stellantis NV logo in the reception area of the automaker's technical center in Velizy-Villacoublay near Paris, France, on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Stellantis NV, the carmaker formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and PSA Group, advanced in its first day of trading after completing a more than two-year effort to form one of the worlds largest vehicle manufacturers. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg The management changes announced Thursday, adding to a growing list of executive departures, “will likely be unable to calm investors’ nerves,” Bernstein analysts including Daniel Roeska said. Rather, Stellantis should “clearly address the mistakes and challenges.”
Those challenges go well beyond the remit of departing CFO Natalie Knight, who joined the company in July 2023. Stellantis is reeling from slumping sales in North America, delayed new-model introductions in Europe, and quality issues and the threat of strikes in the US and Italy. The setbacks have coincided with a broader demand slowdown for electric vehicles.
Stellantis shares slid as much as 4.8% on Friday, adding to a 45% year-to-date decline. They were down 2.9% as of 5 p.m. in Milan.
Tavares has pursued stringent cost cuts to counter waning sales and intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers. In the US, the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler brands struggling with quality issues and declining market share.
Leaders of Stellantis’ US dealer network last month criticized the CEO for presiding over a “rapid degradation” of the automaker’s brands there. Retailers accused Tavares of “short-term decision making” that boosted profits last year and padded the CEO’s compensation. The moves ended up shrinking the company’s market share and hurting its brands, the national dealer council said in an open letter to Tavares dated Sept. 10.
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While the company’s statement on Thursday cited “unanimous” backing for the CEO, the board has started looking for a replacement to take over from Tavares when his contract runs out in early 2026. Chairman John Elkann is leading the special committee overseeing that effort, set to conclude late next year. His family’s Exor NV holding company is the largest shareholder in Stellantis.
Addressing the lower house of Italy’s parliament on Friday, Tavares struck a defiant tone, defending governance at Stellantis while walking back a goal to produce 1 million cars in the country by 2030.
“I will never talk about 1 million vehicles but about 1 million customers, which is something that some have perhaps forgotten about,” Tavares said. “If we get 1 million customers, I assure you that we will have a production system in Italy that will be able to produce all those vehicles.”
Knight, who will be replaced by Doug Ostermann, faced backlash over a Sept. 30 profit warning that sent the stock tumbling. It came a week after she characterized the company’s full-year margin target as “ambitious.”
Knight was the first executive to initially raise an alarm on Stellantis’ expectations during an analyst call on April 30. While the shares were already on a downward trend before that event, their decline accelerated from that point.
Uwe Hochgeschurtz, who served as chief operating officer of the enlarged Europe region, will leave the company as well. Stellantis also made changes to its North America leadership and atop the Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands. The moves come after the Stellantis board of directors held a two-day meeting in the US this week.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Tavares was eyeing a management shakeup in response to the automaker’s malaise. His own contract ends in early 2026, with the board already looking for a successor.
The profit warning included an industrial free cash flow projection for at worst negative €10 billion ($10.9 billion) — a dramatic pullback from prior guidance for a positive result. Analysts downgraded the stock and said the magnitude of the cuts have led to a loss of top management credibility.
As part of Thursday’s shakeup, Antonio Filosa was named North America chief operating officer in addition to his role as CEO of the Jeep brand. He replaces Carlos Zarlenga, whose next position “will be subject to a further announcement,” Stellantis said. Santo Ficili was appointed CEO of Maserati and Alfa Romeo.