MILAN/DETROIT (Reuters) – Stellantis, which owns 14 brands including Fiat, Jeep and Ram, under the leadership of Chairman John Elkann, is dismantling the legacy of its former CEO and has established a partnership with dealers, industry partners, governments and labor. is acting quickly to repair relationships with
Carlos Tavares abruptly resigned on Dec. 1, about 18 months before his contract was due to expire, as a rift widened between the world’s fourth-largest automaker’s board and major shareholders.
While the company searches for a new CEO, Stellantis is being run by an interim executive committee chaired by Elkann.
Stellantis, which warned about profits at the end of September and faces ballooning inventories, cannot afford to drift under temporary leadership.
Elkann, 48, is the scion of the Agnelli family that founded Italian carmaker Fiat more than a century ago. He is also the chairman of Ferrari and runs Exor Agnelli Family Holdings.
The new approach will be put to the test on Tuesday when carmaker representatives meet with Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso and local trade unions to try to agree a long-term plan for production in Italy.
The country’s only major carmaker has promised to expand production and protect jobs in exchange for improved manufacturing conditions and government support to electrify the industry, potentially easing tensions with Rome. .
A Stellantis official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was the perfect time to close the deal.
Rejoin lobby group
Less than a week after the CEO’s resignation, Stellantis announced it would rejoin the European auto lobby group ACEA. Another source said the departure was based on Tavares’ decision to pursue an independent lobbying strategy without consulting the board in early 2023.
Jean-Philippe Imparato, Stellantis’ head of Europe, said last week that the carmaker plans to follow the group’s recommendations.
Mr Tavares had opposed ACEA’s calls to ease the European Union’s interim carbon reduction targets, which risked carmakers being fined billions of euros.
The Stellantis European Dealers Association, which supported ACEA’s proposal, did not support his position.
But at a meeting of European Stellantis retailers in Amsterdam just days after Tavares’ resignation, Imparato was the featured guest, and the atmosphere softened.
“Our partnership with Stellantis is strong and we are confident that we will be able to meet future challenges together with our partner,” the dealers said in a statement.
Alberto Di Tanno, chairman of Italian dealer group Intergear, said it was too early to see concrete changes, but he was confident.
“The company seems to want to portray itself as less centralized and give more autonomy to the national structure, including its relationship with dealers,” he said.
relationship repair
Mr. Tavares is an industry veteran who has led Stellantis since its founding in 2021 through the merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler, and was noted for its improved operating margins.
But dealers on both sides of the Atlantic complained that price increases for mass-market brands ultimately cost them the support of inflation-hit customers.
Stellantis quickly rehired departed executive Timothy Kuniskis this month to lead one of its most important brands, Rum.
Industry analysts interpreted the decision as a move to improve relations with dealers in the group’s revenue powerhouse, the United States, and reverse Ram’s U.S. sales, which had fallen 24% this year as of the end of the third quarter. I am doing it.
Kevin Farish, leader of Stellantis’ dealer council, said Elkann met with the company’s board in the United States in early December to discuss how the relationship between automakers and dealers could be repaired. spoke.
Farisch said Elkann said Antonio Filosa, who was appointed head of North American operations in October, will have the authority to respond to market conditions.
“It meant a lot to us,” he said in a message. “There are many opportunities to right the harm Mr. Tavares has done.”
Santosh Viswanathan, who owns a Stellantis dealership in Delaware, said Elkann’s early actions were promising, although there is much work to be done.
“The dealership itself, which is the sales channel, is in a dilapidated state,” Viswanathan said.
“These are difficult times that call for drastic measures.”
Elkann’s steadying influence
Stellantis shares, which have fallen more than 40% since the beginning of the year, have rebounded more than 18% after sinking to their lowest since July 2022 on Dec. 2 following news of Tavares’ resignation.
Switzerland-based Lemanic fund manager Andrea Scauli restructured his small stake in Stellantis last week, but the entire auto industry is still struggling with EU regulations on carbon emissions, including potential fines for the 2025 interim target. would benefit from a more flexible approach.
“Mr. Tavares denied this was an issue,” Mr. Scauri said.
“Recognizing that risks may exist and forging more constructive relations with politics at national and EU level should help Stellantis.”
Another person, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, said Mr. Elkann devotes most of his time to Stellantis.
The person also said Elkann chose to select an interim management team rather than take on the interim CEO role he held when Ferrari was without a CEO at the end of 2020.
“His ideas are for more collegial management at this stage, and more emphasis on top executives, their roles and skills, compared to the previous one-man-only style under the Tavares administration,” the source said. It was to put it there.”
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Nora Eckert in Detroit; Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris and Alessandro Parodi in Gdańsk; Editing by Keith Weir and Barbara Lewis)
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