“There are no taboos at Stellantis”declared the boss of the company this Monday, Carlos Tavares
The CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, is in turmoil in the face of Chinese competition which is taking up more and more space in Europe. In an interview given to Echoes this Sunday, the latter affirmed not to close the door to a potential closure of factories. Words that he reaffirmed this Monday, October 14 at the microphone of RTL.
“Closing the borders to Chinese products is a trap”he told our colleagues at Les Échos this Sunday, October 13. According to the boss of Stellantis, “they will get around the barriers by investing in factories in Europe […] Factories which will be partly financed by state subsidies in low-cost countries”he explained, while Chinese vehicles sold in Europe will be subject, from the end of October, to a tax of up to 45%.
Stay competitive against the competition
To avoid these surcharges, manufacturers like BYD have planned to open sites in Europe, threatening, according to Carlos Tavares, the Stellantis factories in the territory. “SIf the Chinese take 10% market share in Europe at the end of their offensive, this means that they will produce 1.5 million cars. That’s seven assembly plants. European manufacturers will then have to either close them or transfer them to the Chinese.he warned. “If we want to remain competitive with Chinese competition, we will need measures”he mentioned, referring to a potential closure of factories in Europe, ensuring that he “There are no taboos at Stellantis”.
Volkswagen “shot first” by mentioning the closure of several sites in addition to the Rhine. “There is no reason to accept a deterioration in our performance if the Chinese progress in Europe”said the German vehicle manufacturer. “We will maintain our neutral position (the number of cars needed to make fixed costs profitable, Editor’s note) below the threshold of 50% activity“, he stressed.
A margin of more than 10% for 2024
Stellantis had previously significantly revised its margin targets for 2024 downwards while it had published margin targets of more than 10% since the creation of the group in 2021. “If the context makes achieving this goal completely stupid, we are not going to cling to it at all costs […] We’re not crazy!” he declared.
Furthermore, the director of Stellantis continues to oppose a postponement of the strengthening of European greenhouse gas emissions standards and regrets that “Stellantis is the fuse of disputes between the European Union and certain of its members like Italy which wants to reverse the decisions taken […] Today, the opposition’s support for electric vehicles is a political divide.”he tempered in Les Échos.
Stock reduced to 52,000 units
“The unanimous support of the board and its chairman John Elkann allows everyone to regain their concentration to work peacefully until the end of my 2026 contract”indicated the boss of the group with fifteen brands, affirming the end of his mandate by January 2026.
Do everything to “avoid job losses”
Until then, the CEO of Stellantis has promised “hardening”. “It’s getting harder and it’s certain that all this will require a lot of efforta lot of imagination, a lot of innovation to recreate a sustainability that is sustainable like any sustainability on the basis of recurring profits and therefore it is not a sacred objective to have a double-digit operating margin. On the other hand, you must be able to make the difference compared to our competitors“.
To achieve this, he assured that he had reduced the stocks of “52,000 units over the last three months” and works hard to “avoid cutting jobs”. “The financial health of the group does not only depend on job cuts. It requires many other things, imagination, intelligence and innovation,” he argued. “This is what we’re doing… It’s my decision and I’m not bitter, I’m going to sprint to 2026, he said.
