Carlos Tavares out as Stellantis CEO a year ahead of planned exit

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares poses at the production line of the Peugeot e-3008 and e-5008 electric car at the Stellantis car factory in Sochaux, eastern France.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has left the company, effective immediately, the automaker announced on Sunday.

In a statement, Stellantis announced the company’s board of directors had accepted Tavares’ resignation, thanking him for his years of service and pointing to “different views” as the primary reason for his departure.

“Stellantis’ success since its creation has been rooted in a perfect alignment between the reference shareholders, the Board and the CEO,” Stellantis’ Senior Independent Director, Henri de Castries, said in the statement.”However, in recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the Board and the CEO coming to today’s decision.”

Tavares had served as Stellantis CEO since its creation in 2021, when PSA Group, a French automobile manufacturer, merged with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to form the new company — the parent of major car brands, including Jeep, Chrysler, and Maserati. He had served as CEO at PSA Group since 2014, where he’d earned praise for returning the company to profitability after near insolvency.

While Stellantis has seen its profits shrink and stock slump dramatically this year, the company’s board, in an October statement, previously indicated it was “unanimous in its support of Carlos Tavares” and that he would continue to serve in the role until the end of his contract in early 2026.

Still, B-17 previously reported that Tavares, in his attempts to reshape the global automaker, faced increasing criticism from investors, dealers, and union workers alike this year about his cost cuts, discontinuation of affordable car models, and shrinking profit margins.

The Financial Times reported, in the wake of Tavares’ resignation, that his vision for the company and strategy to reverse slumping sales had been the subject of mounting tension between him and other Stellantis board members.

“He was focusing on the short term rather than the group’s longer-term and managed to anger everybody in the process,” FT reported a person familiar with board members’ conversations said.

A second source familiar with the board’s conversations told FT there “was a sense that Carlos was moving too fast to retrieve his reputation at the risk of creating problems in the future.”

Representatives for Stellantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from B-17.