The Stellantis Automotive Group is in the midst of a major and important change that could turn the company upside down. In fact, as Stellantis has already officially communicated, there are major changes in the Group led by Tavares. The first major change, as discussed in a previous news story, concerns CEO Tavares himself, who has announced his retirement in 2026. This, consequently, leads to extensive reform at the top of the company, something that moves the market a lot and raises various doubts – but also hopes – about the future of the automotive group. Stock markets fall and RBC analyst expresses concerns for the Stellantis’ future
Important news in North America
Among the most important news, we certainly find the appointment of Antonia Filosa as the new Chief Operating Officer for North America. As we know, this region represents a challenge for the company of great importance, given the glorious past for Stellantis. This very important change comes at a very delicate time for the automotive group, which is facing a situation where shares are falling, and profit forecasts are down. Could this set of new choices be enough to change the negative trend? By now, there is talk of a real “shuffle” that should try to save the company’s fortunes.
Therefore, we are in hours of fundamental importance for the entire Stellantis automotive group, which moreover, has also announced its farewell permanently. It is a moment that is holding the entire automotive industry with bated breath, as well as many other companies, which albeit passively derive in part from the success of Stellantis. As far as North America is concerned, the entry of Antonio Filosa as the new chief operating officer is certainly the biggest news, in a market that is causing various problems for the company.
Filosa, who is also currently the CEO of the U.S. Jeep brand, took on the new position effective immediately, as are all the other changes Stellantis currently envisions. Filosa will drag along his prior experience in operations obtained in South America, an area in which he has made valuable contributions to improving turnovers and market quality.
Changes at a difficult time for Stellantis
All this big news comes at one of the most sensitive times for Stellantis. On Friday, October 11, the company’s shares saw a further 2.4 percent drop on the Paris and Milan stock exchanges. This was caused by the news of Tavares’ retirement and further forecasts in the financial sector that do not seem to be positive at present. Stellantis, just in the face of this situation, recently had to lower its profit forecast for the current year. In addition, it has also foretold that there may be some possible dividend cuts and share acquisitions.
In this regard, RBC analyst Tom Narayan expressed doubts about how these leadership changes are able to permanently solve Stellantis’ current problems, such as aggressive pricing strategy in North America and overstocking at dealers. Therefore, although efforts to try to turn things around should be noted, the group’s situation still remains difficult to manage. The market continues to evolve, while the company experiences further declines in sales in important markets, such as Canada.