Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, during a press conference in Turin
Stellantis has confirmed its new Chinese “asset light” strategy, focused on lean local production under license and favoring exports to China, declared the general director of the automobile manufacturer Carlos Tavares during an investor day organized Thursday in the United States. United.
The day before, the European Union announced new customs duties of up to 38.1% on imports of Chinese vehicles. Beijing spoke out against this decision, described as protectionist, and said it hoped that Brussels could resolve this trade dispute through dialogue.
Carlos Tavares has in the past criticized the prospect of additional taxation on imported Chinese cars, which has raised fears of retaliation from China.
“What is clear is that we do not want to be on the defensive,” he said Thursday, referring to the new customs duties. “Our strategy, which remains an ‘asset light’ strategy, must ensure that we ride the wave of the Chinese offensive.”
“Our asset light strategy in China is much more robust than that of many of our competitors,” added Carlos Tavares.
Stellantis acquired a 21% stake in the Chinese automobile manufacturer Leapmotor and created a joint venture with it, of which Stellantis holds 51%, allowing the group born from the merger between PSA and FCA to sell and manufacture Leapmotor vehicles outside China.
The Franco-Italian-American manufacturer, owner of 14 brands including Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep and Ram, also maintained its 2024 financial objectives and confirmed that its adjusted operating margin would be between 10% and 11% in the first half of the year. .
The group disappointed in April with this half-year margin objective, at the bottom of its forecast range, but Carlos Tavares reiterated Thursday that the ambition of a double-digit margin, one of the manager’s trademarks, remained “intact”.
Stellantis also said it wanted to pay at least 7.7 billion euros in dividends and share buybacks in 2024 and said it was aiming for the top of its range of 25 to 30% for the dividend payout rate in 2025, compared to 25% in past years.
One of the most profitable automakers in the industry, with an operating margin of nearly 13% in 2023, Stellantis saw its revenue fall 12% in the first quarter, a low point in its product cycle as it waits for A burst of new models takes over in the second part of the year.
(Nora Eckert in Auburn Hills, Giulio Piovaccari in Milan, Gilles Guillaume in Paris)
