Antonio Filosa, Stellantis COO for North America and among the candidates to take over as Stellantis CEO from Carlos Tavares, has announced that the automotive group’s objective for 2025 is to strengthen its position in the United States. 2024 was a difficult year for Stellantis, with tensions with dealers due to excessively high vehicle prices, and with unions over thousands of layoffs at American plants and the unfulfilled promise to reopen the Belvidere plant. Now Filosa is determined to adjust the trajectory and rebuild relationships with stakeholders.
Stellantis aims to rebuild trust with partners, dealers, and unions in the United States in 2025
“The United States is the largest market where Stellantis has the privilege to operate,” Filosa stated during the Detroit Auto Show. The Chief Operating Officer intends to focus on U.S. consumer needs and align the automotive group’s products with their preferences.
Filosa also mentioned the important return of Tim Kuniskis to lead the Ram brand, who announced the cancellation of the 1500 REV Long Range to make way for the upcoming Ramcharger. Additionally, Filosa wants to prioritize communications with dealers and suppliers to rebuild the trust that Carlos Tavares definitively destroyed in 2024 due to his policies.
He will attend the National Automobile Dealers Association Show (NADA) in New Orleans this month to meet with dealers from across the United States and listen to their requests to improve collaboration. Stellantis has managed to reduce inventory by about 200,000 units, going from nearly 500,000 vehicles to about 300,000 at the start of 2025.
The automotive group forecasts sales growth in 2025 in the United States thanks to a series of new vehicles such as the aforementioned Ram 1500 Ramcharger, Dodge Charger Daytona, and Jeep Wagoneer S. Additionally, the debut of the new Jeep Cherokee and the Charger ICE SIXPACK is approaching.
Furthermore, Filosa stated that he has initiated discussions with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union to maintain strong relations, expressing optimism about the meetings. “This is a very complex business, but the point isn’t just to sell more. Everything comes down to one thing: a customer happy to buy our cars,” Filosa concluded.