Carlos Tavares leaves Stellantis, the group's share price illustrates its dizzying fall

AUTOMOTIVE – Ten years of success, six months of crisis and at the end, a surprise departure. Iconic general manager of the Stellantis group, Carlos Tavares resigned on Sunday December 1, leaving the car manufacturer more than a year before his scheduled retirement.

The 66-year-old Portuguese is paying for firm management but above all a spectacular turnaround in the financial situation of the group, which he had made into a global giant, with 14 brands (Peugeot, Fiat, Chrysler, Maserati, etc.).

And it was not won when he was appointed in 2014. Then on the brink of the abyss, PSA Peugeot-Citroën recovered under his orders with a drop in costs considered brutal by its detractors. And two major operations, the acquisition of Opel then the merger with Fiat-Chrysler, had made Stellantis one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world.

The value of the group created in January 2021 then doubled in three years, with Stellantis shares going from 12.50 euros at its creation to nearly 27 euros in March 2024. In just one semester, the reversal was brutal, the action having returned to its initial level on November 29.

This Monday, after the announcement of the departure of Carlos Tavares, the action accentuated its loss (-7%) to around 11.50 euros.

Why such a decline, and so sudden at that? There are of course elements linked to the sector's concerns with Chinese competition on electric vehicles or fears linked to the return of Donald Trump to power and his exorbitant customs duties. But Stellantis experienced more specific problems (electronic issues delayed the launch of several new models) that resulted in a sales drop of more than 20% in the third quarter.

Symbol of this crisis, sales on the North American market which fell by 36% with hiccups for the Dodge, Jeep and RAM brands. With vehicles of criticized quality and prices considered too high, Stellantis then lost its “cash machine”, forcing Carlos Tavares to revise downwards his sacred operating margin objective to “ two digits » for the year 2024.

Unions fear a “major crisis”

Socially too, the group faced questions. The drop in production in many factories did not fail to worry, as in Italy, home of Fiat, where thousands of demonstrators demanded accountability in mid-October. The government of Giorgia Meloni criticizes the manufacturer for relocating its production to low-cost countries, to the detriment of Italian factories. In Great Britain, the Vauxhall factory in Luton was condemned, putting 1,100 people in doubt. In France, the group's management assured last week that no factory closures were planned in the short term despite an expected drop in production.

But no recent speech has brought back serenity. It is not the hasty departure of Carlos Tavares which will contribute to this. “The sudden announcement (…), combined with the establishment of a temporary executive committee without strong leadership, dangerously exposes the group to a major crisis”fears Philippe Diogo, central FO union delegate of the group.

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