Stellantis CEO Tavares resigns over differences with board

In a statement late Sunday night, Stellantis CEO Tavares resigns over differences with the board of directors ending his turbulent run as the head of the company.

Stellantis CEO Tavares resigns

The resignation, effective immediately, will certainly shake up the company in the near term.

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO since 2021, pushed the automaker to adopt more electrification, improve plant production and focus on quality in the past few years.

These plans were often met with resistance from consumers, and sales at Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Fiat and Chrysler have all declined over the years including a startling 20% drop in the 2024 Q3 sales report.

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The UAW led by President Shawn Fain was also critical of Tavares’s plans and specifically called him out on many occasions even maintaining a website for a time called ShitcanTavares.com for union members to sign up for a new strike against the automaker.

Many critics and fans speculated that Stellantis was heading for bankruptcy due to the company’s direction.

The statement says a search for a new CEO is already underway with plans to have someone in place by early next year.  In the interim,  a new interim executive committee, led by Chairman John Elkann, will oversee the company.

While Tavares had already announced he would step down in 2026, the sudden departure raises many questions on the future of the company and how bad things are for the automaker.