MILAN (Reuters) – The chief executive of Stellantis, the Jeep maker, has resigned, Carlos Tavares, Fiat (BIT:) and Puegeot cars said on Sunday, adding that their goal was to find a new director in the first half of this year.
Tavares, previously considered one of the auto industry's most respected executives, came under heavy criticism earlier this year after Stellantis (NYSE 🙂 issued a profit warning on its 2024 results, including a forecast for a burn of cash of up to 10 billion euros, blaming mainly poor sales and inflated inventories in its key North American market.
“The company's board of directors, under the chairmanship of John Elkann, today accepted the resignation of Carlos Tavares from his position as CEO effective immediately,” Stellantis said in a statement.
Stellantis said the process to appoint the new permanent CEO was underway, managed by a Special Committee of the Board.
The process will conclude in the first half of 2025, he stated, adding that a new Interim Executive Committee will be established, chaired by Elkann.
Tavares was previously expected to retire at the end of his term, in early 2026.
Tavares has led Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest automaker by sales, since its creation in early 2021, through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA, owner of Peugeot (OTC .
The main investor in Stellantis is the Agnelli family, founders of Fiat, through the investment company EXOR. Elkann, a descendant of the Agnelli family, is also CEO of Exor (AS:).
Stellantis shares have lost about 40% of their value this year.
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