The news came like a hammer: Carlos Tavares, the CEO who transformed a French manufacturer into a global automobile giant, is resigning with immediate effect.
The announcement came as a massive blow to the automotive world: Carlos Tavares, the architect of the PSA-FCA merger and emblematic boss of Stellantis, is leaving his position with immediate effect.
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This resignation, made official by a press release evoking “ differences of views“, comes in a particularly delicate context for the world’s fourth largest automobile manufacturer.
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To understand the magnitude of the earthquake, we must remember that Carlos Tavares was not a CEO like any other. Since the creation of Stellantis in 2021, he had succeeded in transforming a complex Franco-Italian-American marriage into a cash flow machine, setting profitability records.
The group, which houses no less than 15 brands including Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Opel and Jeep, had become under his leadership an example of effective management.
But in recent months, the clouds have been accumulating. Delays in the launch of strategic models such as the Citroën C3 and C3 Aircross weighed on European performance. Even more worrying, the North American market, the group's traditional cash cow, is showing signs of weakness with a dizzying 42% drop in turnover over one year.
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There is no shortage of challenges at Stellantis
This resignation comes at a critical time when Stellantis must manage several major challenges. First, the downward revision of the operating margin objectives for 2024, now between 5.5% and 7%, whereas we were previously targeting both figures. A signal which reflects a market reality that is more complex than expected.
The group faces a triple threat: an increase in supply which pushes prices down, increasingly aggressive Chinese competition, and the need to invest massively in electrification.
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