Just like with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis shareholders also received a profit warning this year. Sales results in the US in particular were very disappointing and 1,000 jobs had to be cut at the Jeep factory in Ohio. In addition, factories in Italy and France had to be closed or scaled down, which caused a lot of friction between the group and those countries. ACEA Something strange also seems to be going on at Stellantis. Last year, then CEO Carlos Tavares canceled membership of the European trade association ACEA, because he did not agree with the club’s lobbying to postpone stricter CO2 standards. Tavares believed Stellantis was ready to meet the new standards, thanks in part to relatively affordable EVs from Fiat, Citroën and Opel. Last month, Tavares was away from Stellantis overnight and his office chair was still warm when the request to resume Stellantis membership landed on the doorstep of then ACEA chairman Luca de Meo. It appears that the other top executives in the group are less confident about CO2 performance than Tavares was previously. Another direct consequence of Tavares’ departure is that the proposed layoffs in Ohio have been canceled. The rumor circuit was buzzing that the American branches of Stellantis in particular were fed up with Tavares; he is said to have understood too little about the US market. This good tidings for Ohio plant workers seems to confirm this. Leapmotor Nevertheless, Stellantis is smartly preparing for the future. It has secured the European representation of the Chinese Leapmotor, which will allow it to offer electric cars at the lower end of the market. Leapmotor now also manufactures in Europe (Poland), thus avoiding European import duties. Perhaps it will turn out that Tavares was right in his pride after all.
Source: www.autoweek.nl
