Carlos Tavares will have to step down at the beginning of 2026 after almost 12 years at the helm of the fourth largest car company. As DMM reported, the owners of Stellantis strongly disagree with the CEO’s performance and are therefore not extending the 66-year-old’s contract. Tavares is accused of, among other things, his flawed US strategy. Potential successors are already warming up.
Almost all brands in the Stellantis portfolio are currently recording massive declines in sales in the USA. Tavares also had the unforgivable luxury of taking on the powerful American auto union URW. Due to stagnating numbers of new registrations on the US market, he quickly shut down a factory in Illinois – contrary to what had previously been agreed. He also attacked the German car manufacturers and accused them of lack of planning and most recently he criticized VW & Co. for their rejection of punitive tariffs on electric cars from China.
The separation was probably amicable. But at least: The Portuguese can still actively participate in the planned restructuring of the group and he will have the opportunity to iron out his mistakes to some extent in the coming year. This includes, for example, his harshness towards colleagues, according to Christian Lafaye, a former high-ranking representative of the powerful FO union at PSA.
Years ago, Tavares was considered a restructuring expert who made the traditional brands Peugeot and Opel sustainable again and he was the leading driver of the mega-merger between the French Groupe PSA and Fiat-Chrysler to form today’s Stellantis Group. But none of that matters much anymore today. The company confirmed that the formal process is already underway to find a successor to Carlos Tavares, who will retire at the end of his term as CEO in early 2026. The process will be led by a special committee of the Board chaired by John Elkann and is expected to complete its work by the fourth quarter of 2025.
As DMM reported in recent weeks, Tavares has been under heavy pressure for months as sales of the multi-brand group’s vehicles have collapsed. The market for electric cars in particular has recently collapsed massively in many places. The company with its German subsidiary Opel had planned to no longer offer combustion engines from 2030. But there was a problem with the production of electric cars. Negative example of the Citroën ë-C3. The model was supposed to become a bestseller at a competitive price of 23,000. But the delivery was delayed due to persistent software errors. And the Peugeot E-3008, a premium SUV, also experienced massive international delays. Stellantis would have urgently needed models intended as e-powerhouses in the first half of 2024: Compared to the previous year, sales fell from 98 billion euros to just 85 billion euros. And so Stellantis, like the German manufacturers VW, BMW and Mercedes, was forced to issue a profit warning.
Tavares’ colleague on the board, CFO Natalie Knight, had to vacate her position immediately, unlike the CEO. She was replaced by Doug Ostermann. Ostermann will be named Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Natalie Knight, who will be leaving the company. Doug Ostermann has extensive experience in the automotive industry and profit and loss management: he has worked in finance for more than 19 years at three international corporations, including Stellantis and another OEM, and was previously Chief Operating Officer of Stellantis China.
Gregoire Olivier is appointed Chief Operating Officer China and remains Chief Liaison Officer to Leapmotor, bringing his expertise and experience in the Chinese market.
Santo Ficili is appointed CEO of Maserati and Alfa Romeo and is a member of the top executive team. He can contribute his extensive knowledge of the automotive industry and sales. Davide Grasso’s next position is yet to be announced.
In addition, the previous Jeep boss Antonio Filo will be responsible for the weak North American business in the future. Tavares also had few friends with cutting staff. Quelle: Stellantis / DMM
