Breaking: Auto giant Stellantis loses CEO as car sales take unexpected hit
Stellantis chief-exec leaves company earlier than planned due to disagreements with board. Fourth-largest global carmaker faces dropping sales and tough choices about factory operations
Carlos Tavares left his position as Stellantis boss on Dec 1st - a move that wasnt expected until early-26. The split happened after some not-so-great talks with the board about company direction
The car-making giant (which owns brands like Vauxhall Chrysler and Fiat) saw its numbers go down big-time: their July-Sept sales dropped by twenty percent with only 1.1m cars shipped. The companyʼs money situation isnt looking too good with revenue falling to €33bn - about twenty-seven percent less than last year
The shake-up comes right after they said theyd close the Luton van factory which puts 1100 jobs at-risk. Theyʼre pointing fingers at UKʼs zero-emission rules that say:
- Twenty-two percent of sales must be electric cars this year
- Number goes up to eighty percent by 2030
- Companies get fined if they dont hit these targets
Senior director Henri de Castries explained the quick change: “Different views came up between board and chief in recent weeks; we had to make this choice“. The companyʼs putting John Elkann in charge for now until they find someone new around mid-25
Theyʼre moving £50m into their Ellesmere Port place (its their only all-electric van factory in UK). But some car-industry people think theyre just using green rules as an excuse: Andy Palmer who used to run Aston Martin says
The Luton factory has been on death row for 25 years
The company - made when Fiat-Chrysler and PSA joined up about 3 years ago - is having a hard time with Chinese competition too. They even cut their profit outlook in half showing how tough things are getting
