Carlos Tavares, the CEO who brought the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler together to create Stellantis, is now warning the French-Italian-American automaker could be broken up due to internal tensions, and its on-going struggles.
Since abruptly quitting as Stellantis CEO in December 2024, Mr Tavares hasn’t taken on another role in the auto industry. With a bit of time on his hands, he’s just finished penning a new book, titled ‘Un pilote dans la tempête’ or ‘A pilot in the storm’.
In it, according to Bloomberg, he said he is “worried that the three-way balance between Italy, France and the US will break”. He believes the company’s survival in its current form requires management focussing on unity “every day”, otherwise Stellantis risks being torn from multiple directions.
Mr Tavares then went on to posit: “One possible scenario, and there are many others, could be a Chinese manufacturer one day making a bid for the Europe business with the Americans taking back the North America operations.”
During his Mr Tavares’ tenure as PSA CEO, Dongfeng was one of the company’s largest shareholders alongside the Peugeot family and the French government. Dongfeng was forced to sell down its stake during the merger process in order to allay American fears.
It’s unknown if European regulators would be as keen on a Chinese takeover of one of its major automakers. Last year the EU slapped heavy tariffs on EVs made in China.
In June this year, Stellantis appointed Antonio Filosa, the group’s chief quality officer and the chief operating officer for its North American division, as its new CEO.
Having joined Fiat way back in 1999 and with most his career spent in Latin America, Mr Filosa’s ascension to the top job has reportedly stoked fears within the firm about a more American focus for the company.
Indeed, during the first few months of his reign, Stellantis has resurrected the Hemi V8 engine that Mr Tavares tried to kill off, and axed a number of projects, including the electric Ram 1500 REV pickup truck.
The former CEO opined, “With me gone, I am not sure that the French interests that I always had at heart — whether you believe it or not — will be as well defended”.
During his time as CEO of the PSA Group, Mr Tavares was feted for turning the French automaker around. When he took on PSA’s hot seat in 2014, the firm had just suffered €8 billion (A$14bn) in losses over the previous two years.
Through a focus on profit over volume and shared components, as well as rounds of cost-cutting and job losses, PSA — which owned the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands — soon had some of the highest margins in the business.
In his next move, PSA bought Opel/Vauxhall from GM in 2017. Within a year the brands which had burnt money for the best part of two decades were back in the black.
With his stock riding high, he helped engineer the union between the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler. Billed as a merger of equals, the stock and board were split evenly between the two factions, but PSA was put in the driving seat as Mr Tavares took up the 11th seat on the board and became the new company’s CEO.
While Stellantis inherited eight brands — Fiat/Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram — and a profitable American operation, most of Fiat Chrysler’s marques had been starved of new product for years.
Mr Tavares’ relentless focus on costs angered employees, unions and suppliers. As profits and market share sank, the disquiet spilled over into the boardroom, leading to disagreements about the company’s future direction and, ultimately, his resignation.
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