Asked about the confidence of his board of directors in him, Carlos Tavares, the general director of Stellantis, did not answer for the other directors or its president, John Elkann, representative of the Agnelli family. But at the end of a visit to the Sochaux factory (Doubs) with the Minister for Industry, Marc Ferracci, Thursday October 3, in the company of numerous elected officials, including the president of the Burgundy-Franche region- County, Marie-Guite Dufay, he declared to the press that he had a ” CONTRACT ” which runs until January 2026 and that he would respect it, expecting the other party to do the same. “In 2026, the person in front of you will be 68 years old. It is a reasonable age to retire, in all European countries”he clarified, adding: “My wife will tell you I should retire, and I’m a good husband. »
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Until now, he had rather shown his desire to stay for a new term. The board of directors confirmed to the Bloomberg agency that it had launched the search process for its next general director, while specifying that this did not rule out Carlos Tavares, who could be in the race.
Until then, he considers that the remainder of his mandate is “more than enough to get things back on track”after the warning on the brutal results announced by the company before the opening of the Stock Exchange, Monday September 30. Stellantis, which until now promised a double-digit margin – unheard of for a general manufacturer – has revised its objective for 2024 and is now targeting between 5.5% and 7%, due to significant difficulties in the American market. and pressure from Chinese competition.
Marketing of the 3008 and 5008
In Sochaux, accompanied by all the directors of the group’s twelve French factories (including the Automative Cells Company battery factory), he was keen to demonstrate that each of them had been prepared to take the step towards electrification of the mobility. With heavy investments: 3 billion euros in total over the past five years. Sochaux, which is recruiting 450 temporary workers to set up a night shift, produces 30% electric 3008s and hybrids for the remaining 70%, with the possibility of 3008s and 5008s, the marketing of which has just started , to adapt the proportions according to changes in demand.
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The general manager, while the stock price has been halved since the start of the year, was keen to announce three good news: the good start of sales of the 3008 and the 5008, the start of recovery of the market share which had collapsed in the United States (it went from 7.2% in July to 8.1% in September) and the change today of the hundred thousandth set of Takata airbags, which allows it to hope that the problem will be addressed and resolved before the end of the year.
