THE boss of a major carmaker has sensationally stepped down – leaving the company’s future in an uncertain position.
Chief Executive Carlos Tavares quit as the head of Motoring giants Stellantis – Europe’s second-biggest maker of cars.
Stellantis currently owns a number of famous brands, ranging from the likes of Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot and Maserati.
Vauxhall is also among those marques, and the iconic British firm continues to maintain its factories in Ellesmere Port and Luton – having done so for decades.
It comes two months after a profit warning at the maker of Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot cars that has lost around 40% of its value this year.
The company said it would seek a replacement for Tavares in the first half of next year.
“Stellantis’s success since its creation has been rooted in a perfect alignment between the reference shareholders, the board and the CEO,” said the company’s senior independent director, Henri de Castries.
“However, in recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the board and the CEO coming to today’s decision.”
Stellantis said in a statement on Sunday that its board, including Chairman John Elkann, accepted the CEO’s resignation “with immediate effect” and that a new interim executive committee, chaired by Elkann, would be established.
In recent months, Stellantis have suggested that they could be forced to shut a number of motor plants thanks to the government’s electrification rules.
Known as the ZEV Mandate, the strict new rules aim to limit the sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK ahead of a 2035 ban.
These measures have been criticised by the car giant for its proposed penalties on car-manufacturing.
Tavares’ approach came under scrutiny after slumping sales in North American led the automaker in September to issue a profit warning on its 2024 results.
That included a forecast for a cash burn of up to 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion), mostly due to slow sales and bloating inventories in its North American market, the group’s profit powerhouse.
Tavares had called on the government to “help to stimulate the demand” for EVs and cemented that the current threshold for green sales is approximately double the “natural” levels of demand.
The former boss claimed the ZEV Mandate was “hurting significantly our business model” and alleged it was “triggering a strategic review” – which included their manufacturing footprint.
He added that, at the time, the company was in an “an intensive and productive dialogue” with the government over the rules.
Vauxhall currently produces electric cars and vans at its Ellesmere Port facility, while their larger petrol and diesel vans are made in Luton – where they plan to commence EV production later this year.
This comes as Stellantis were forced to halt production of the EV version of the Fiat 500 last month – due to low demand.
The popular hatchback remains one of the world’s best-loved and most recognisable motors, but the all-electric version, known as the Fiat 500e, has failed to match the acclaim of the combustion model and has suffered a slump in sales.
Elsewhere, companies like Ford have already said they will reduce production of traditional cars to avoid the fines.
And back in the summer, Audi revealed they were “considering the early end of production” of one of its most successful EVs.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen announced they will shut at least three of its factories in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of staff.
The German car-making giants will also shrink their remaining plants and cut staff pay by 10% in a deeper-than-expected overhaul of one of the world’s most recognisable brands.
