Carlos Tavares has had a profound impact on the history of PSA, which became Stellantis under his leadership. Let's look back at the journey of this CEO who transformed the group and brought it into a new era.
From shadow to light
It all starts on 1ᵉʳ avril 2014when Carlos Tavares takes the reins of PSA (Peugeot-Citroën). Drawing on his experience at the head of Nissan in the United States, he takes over a group on the edge of the abyss! Indeed, PSA at that time was a group which recorded five billion euros in losses in 2012 and 2.3 billion euros in losses in 2013, then unable to recover from the terrible financial crisis of 2008. Proof of this is that the group only sold 2.82 million cars in 2013, or 5% less than in 2012 and 20% less than in 2011.
Carlos Tavares then engages in a drastic cost reduction strategy. We will come back to the Tavares method a little later, but we must admit that this strategy will have a more than positive impact on the company's accounts. It's quite simple, at the end of 2015, a year and a half after his arrival at the head of the group, PSA ended the year in the green by making profits. A first since 2010! This is THE starting point towards the rebirth of the group.
The birth of an industry juggernaut!
The machine is launched, the group is in the green and is now seeking to develop as much as possible. To do this, Carlos Tavares will carry out a series of takeovers and mergers. It begins in 2017, with the takeover of Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors. So of course, with this buyout, the group significantly increases the number of vehicles sold, but this operation is still risky. In fact, these companies have not made a profit for 20 years. However, the Tavares recipe also works for Opel in turn becoming profitable again.
Building on his success, Carlos Tavares is not stopping there. He is now interested to the Fiat Chrysler group (FCA). In 2019, he negotiated the merger with FCA, after the failure of discussions between the latter and Renault-Nissan. This is how, in January 2021, was born, Stellar, one of the world's largest automotive groups. Stellantis has in 2024 no less than 15 manufacturersnamely Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat/Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, RAM, Vauxhall and Leapmotor.
The underside of a success
Carlos Tavares made Stellantis an extremely profitable group. In 2023, the group achieved 18.6 billion euros in profitsredistributing 7.7 billion to shareholders.
Carlos Tavares owes this success to his method. A method that is as effective as it is controversial. He defines himself as “ a performance psychopath “. What is no longer in doubt is that Tavares knows how to save money. Between major job cut plans, employees encouraged to leave and closure of production sites, all means are good to reduce costs. The group does not hesitate to go to low-cost countries to manufacture its cars such as Brazil, Turkey or Morocco.
But this method seems to have its limits. Indeed, by wanting to cut staff too much, certain group services are slowing down within Stellantis.
A more than mixed ending…
If in 2023, the majority of signals were in the green for the group, in 2024, this is no longer the case.
The group's stock market share was halved since March of this year. The group's profits were also halved in the first quarter of 2024. As for the Eldorado that the American market represented for Stellantis, it is no more. Indeed, in the third quarter of 2024, the group records a decline of 36% in this region. It's an understatement to say that the group is in a very complicated period at the moment. Remember, Stellantis had to mount a huge recall campaign regarding issues with the 1.2L PureTech engine, a problem that is not yet 100% resolved. But you also have the Takata airbag affair which shook the brand this year.
Since last night, Carlos Tavares is no longer the CEO of the Stellantis group. The name of his successor should be announced in the first half of 2025. In the meantime, it is John Elkannheir to the Agnelli family, the group's largest shareholder, who was appointed head of a new temporary executive committee. For Carlos Tavares' successor, the task will be tough. He will have to take the helm of the immense liner that Stellantis has become and navigate through rough seas. It will have to face the decline in vehicle sales in Europe, increasingly fierce Chinese competition and the shift towards electric vehicles.
Source: Le Figaro, Automotive News.
