Capital Economy, Business and Finance
The CEO of Stellantis, Europe’s second-largest carmaker, has resigned after clashes with the company’s board over strategy. Carlos Tavares pushed for a strong focus on electric vehicles after taking on the role in 2021 and was known as an effective cost-cutter.
But Stellantis’s share price has slid 47 per cent this year and an attempt to win US market share has stumbled. Last week it shut a Vauxhall factory in Luton in the UK due to high costs, oversupply of cars in the European market and cheap Chinese competition.
Those problems aren’t unique to Stellantis, which owns 14 brands including Fiat and Peugeot, but Tavares’ combative approach – including threatening Italian politicians with plant closures – didn’t win him friends on the board.
They unanimously voted for his exit before the end of his term in 2026. The hunt for his successor will be conducted by chair John Elkann, heir to the Agnelli family’s Fiat fortune.
