The recent departure of four key figures from the leadership of Stellantis North America has raised growing concerns among dealers about the path the company is taking. Among the notable defections are Jim Morrison, former head of Jeep North America, who retired earlier this month, and Tim Kuniskis, CEO of Dodge and Ram with thirty years of experience in the company, who retired in May. Jason Stoicevich, after just two months, left the role of Vice President of the US retail sales program, and Richard Schwarzwald resigned as Chief Customer Experience Officer for “personal reasons”.
The recent resignations of some Stellantis executives in North America are worrying American dealers of the Group
The automotive group, born from the merger between Fiat Chrysler and the French group PSA in 2021, is now facing some skepticism from dealership owners as the North American market remains one of the main ones for the multinational. “What worries me is that the people who know how to sell cars in the United States are leaving,” David Kelleher, former president of the Stellantis National Dealer Council who runs a dealership based in Pennsylvania, told Automotive News. “We’ve lost some executives who were very, very special and who could really do things to make a company successful. It’s worrying that all these people are choosing to leave.”
Stellantis has already appointed replacements for the positions, most of whom are also very experienced in the industry. However, the automaker is also facing the possibility of a sixth consecutive year of declining auto sales in the United States, amid a challenging path towards electrification. Considering these factors, the departures have raised further questions from dealers.
Kelleher also highlighted some company restructuring that reduced its distribution centers from 9 to 6. As for the reasoning behind the reduction, Stellantis said it was strengthening dealer support, although Kelleher points out that it cost three company directors their jobs.