The car manufacturer Stellantis must “regain trust” of its partners, from dealers to suppliers to governments, after the sidelining of its boss Carlos Tavares, its financial director Douglas Ostermann said on Wednesday, December 4. The board of directors of the group of Peugeot, Fiat and Jeep experienced a “growing disagreement” with Carlos Tavares on two subjects, which led to his resignation on Sunday, explained Mr. Ostermann during a conference organized by the bank Goldman Sachs and broadcast online.
The first subject was the management of “strategic issues” in the 15 months preceding the retirement of Mr. Tavares, previously planned for early 2026: shares of «court terme» were opposed to “the long-term interest of society”underlined Mr. Ostermann. Furthermore, Stellantis must “regain the trust of your key partners”dealers, equipment manufacturers, unions and governments of the many countries where the manufacturer is present, underlined Mr. Ostermann, saying that this “will take time”.
An unchanged strategy
Carlos Tavares was known for his ambitious financial objectives but also for his uncompromising management style, which offended many equipment manufacturers but also the Italian government, for example. In the long term, however, Stellantis’ strategy “remains unchanged”with the launch of dozens of models designed on four platforms “multi-energy” (thermal, hybrid, electric), and offensives in Latin America and the Middle East, in particular, underlined Douglas Ostermann on Wednesday.
After a complicated year 2024 and a first warning since the founding of the group in 2021, the situation of Stellantis should “to improve a lot” in 2025, assured the financial director. He is counting on the end of overstock problems in the United States in 2025 (which local management “didn’t know how to resolve it quickly enough”) and in Europe, but also on the launch of several models “who come to fill holes” in the Stellantis ranges, such as the Jeep Cherokee SUV and small models in Europe, such as the Fiat Grande Panda. The financial director is “convinced” that Stellantis will distribute dividends in 2025, and should “discuss” share buybacks, benefited by the very low value of its securities, close to its historic low, around 12 euros on Wednesday when the Paris Stock Exchange closed.
