After a slump in sales: CEO of Opel's parent company Stellantis resigns prematurely

The automaker Stellantis, which is struggling with problems in the important US market and a weak industry situation, has to find a new CEO sooner than expected. The supervisory board has accepted the resignation of Carlos Tavares, announced the multi-brand group (including Opel, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa Romeo) on Sunday evening. As early as October, the Volkswagen rival had announced that the search for a successor for Tavares was underway, as he would not be extending his contract that expires in 2026. A new CEO should now be found by the first half of 2025, it was further announced. Until then, a leadership committee will be formed under the chairman of the supervisory board, John Elkann. The board of Stellantis N.V., chaired by John Elkann, has accepted the resignation of Carlos Tavares from his role as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect, the group reports. Stellantis simultaneously confirms the financial forecast for the full year, which was published on October 31, 2024.

"The success of Stellantis since the company's founding is based on perfect alignment between the major shareholders, the board, and the CEO. However, in recent weeks, there have been differing views, which led to this decision by the board and the CEO," explained Henri de Castries, Senior Independent Director.

Chairman John Elkann praised Carlos Tavares "for his years of dedicated work and the role he played in the founding of Stellantis, as well as in the previous turnarounds of PSA and Opel." His work has put the corporation on the path to becoming a world-leading company in our industry. We are now working on implementing the corporate strategy in the long-term interests of Stellantis and all stakeholders.

Production Continued Briskly

Tavares led Stellantis' formation into an automotive giant through the mega-merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler in 2021. Only at the end of September, the manager had to lower the profit outlook for 2024. In the North American market, the car manufacturer usually earns the lion's share of its profit with large SUVs and pickups. Currently, however, too many unsold cars are sitting on dealers' lots, which is reducing sales prices. Dealers had complained that Stellantis continued producing briskly despite sluggish sales, placing cars on their lots but not giving the sales department enough opportunities to grant sales discounts. In the USA, the car manufacturer usually earns the lion's share of its profit with large SUVs and pickups. And the situation in other countries' car markets is also generally bleak. The company confirmed the lowered annual outlook this Sunday.