Carlos Tavares has resigned with immediate effect from Stellantis, which is now dealing with the selection of a new CEO. This person will have the task of making important decisions for the group’s future by analyzing the situation of various brands, some of which are experiencing major difficulties at this time.
Here are the Stellantis brands most in crisis and on which Tavares’ successor will have to make important decisions
Among the worst-performing Stellantis brands is certainly Abarth, which fell from 23,500 registrations in 2018 to 7,900 in 2023. The transition to electric is penalizing the car manufacturer, which recently launched the new Abarth 600e. Tavares’ successor will therefore have to decide whether to continue on this path, given that the brand has committed to launching only electric vehicles from now on, or choose a safer way to keep the company profitable.
Another Stellantis brand in extreme difficulty is Chrysler. Some analysts fear that this brand could be one of the first to leave Stellantis if things go badly. At present, its range consists only of the Pacifica minivan, which will also have an electric version, while many doubts remain about the future. This is followed by Dodge, with the Hornet failing to win over customers, as well as the rest of the range. The new Dodge Charger Daytona doesn’t seem to convince muscle car fans, which is why the brand has decided to advance the debut of the ICE Charger to early 2025. Pilot models are reportedly already in production.
DS Automobiles also doesn’t seem to have completely succeeded in carving out its own space yet. Born as an offshoot of Citroën, its entry into the premium segment of the car market doesn’t seem to be going as planned. However, the most complex situation in Stellantis remains that of Maserati. While in 2020 the situation seemed to have finally stabilized thanks also to the major investment in the Modena plant, in 2024 the reality is very different with a 75% drop in registrations and production and many fewer models launched on the market than promised.
The Folgore project, dedicated to electric cars, is currently proving to be a real flop with very few registrations recorded so far. Finally, a separate discussion should be made for Alfa Romeo, which despite not particularly satisfactory numbers seems to be able to improve things in the coming years with the good start of Junior and the imminent arrivals of the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia. The new CEO will have a fundamental task and could decide to get rid of some weak brands, although in the past the automotive group has reiterated that it does not want to separate from any of them.