Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is visiting Detroit to fix the legacy automaker’s North American operations. Tavares will be visiting Detroit for three days during his summer break.
Tavares seems determined to improve Stellantis’ North American operations. He intends to develop a strategy to fix the issues hampering the automaker’s operations in the United States. Tavares aims to reassure employees and investors with a new strategy to improve the company’s performance in the US.
“He wanted to make clear he was handling it personally. North American operations are basically funding the rest of the group,” a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Stellantis CEO has his work cut out for him. The company’s operating income dropped by 40% in the first half of 2024. The decline in its operating income has been mainly attributed to poor business performance in North America.
The company’s factories in the United States have been Stellantis’ profit powerhouse. However, Stellantis has been laying off workers in the United States for a few months. It recently laid off over 2,400 employees after discontinuing the production of its Ram 1500 pickup truck.
Tavares has pointed out inefficiencies in two Stellantis plants in the United States. He also reported a poor run rate at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan.
The company’s issues in the United States extend to vehicle sales and inventory. According to Cox Automotive, vehicle sales of Stellantis’ Ram and Jeep brands in the United States have declined by at least 33% since the first half of 2019. The automaker also suffers from high vehicle inventories in North America.
Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois noted that Stellantis’ primary mistake in North America was increasing prices for margins despite the market signaling that customers were unwilling to pay more.
“[Stellantis has] lacked pragmatism to address straight away the inventories building, they should have made more tactical prices to avoid that,” Houchois commented.
Tavares has taken responsibility for Stellantis’ performance in H1 2024.
“We were arrogant. I’m talking about myself, nobody else,” the Stellantis CEO said during the company’s Investor Day in Michigan.
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