It has been eleven years since Carlos Tavares stepped down from his position as COO at Renault to become CEO of the major competitor: the PSA Group. Under his leadership of more than ten years, PSA merged with FCA and then the higher-ups decided that Tavares could also become the CEO of the new mega-concern. He has now held that position for more than three years, but it is still questionable how many more years will follow. The now 66-year-old Tavares formally has a contract until early 2026, but according to Bloomberg, work is already being done to replace Tavares. None other than John Elkann, Agnelli heir and chairman of Stellantis, is pushing for that. Tavares may still get the chance to serve out his current contract, but after that it really seems to be over. In itself, the Portuguese is also old enough (and undoubtedly has the bank account) to enjoy his retirement. However, it is questionable to what extent he himself was already planning to call it quits in 2026. There seems to be a desire from Elkann in particular to put someone else at the helm, although Tavares would still be involved in the search for a successor. Elkann is said to be particularly unhappy with the state of Stellantis’ North American branch and may blame Tavares for that. To say the least, things are not exactly flourishing in that part of the group. We know Carlos Tavares as an outspoken character within the automotive industry. He certainly does not shy away from delivering strong criticism of EU policy and regularly expressed serious concerns about the Chinese automotive industry. There is also criticism of Tavares himself. For example, the CEO, who partly grew up in France, came under heavy fire in that country because of the million-dollar bonuses he received. As mentioned, there is considerable unrest within Stellantis about the state of the American brands and Tavares recently came under heavy criticism from the American dealer organization.
Source: www.autoweek.nl
