Antonio Filosa must replace Carlos Tavares on Monday at the head of Stellantis and announce his new management team, while the fifth world car manufacturer (Peugeot, Fiat, Chrysler Brands) is going through a difficult period. This Italian, parked for a long time in Brazil and then in the United States, embodies the radical turn taken by the car manufacturer, after the era of the very Francophilic Carlos Tavares.
Antonio Filosa, almost 52 years old (will have them on Thursday), was until now director of North America and the south of the group in 14 brands, as well as director of World Quality. He had to announce the new Stellantis administrative team on Monday on Monday and then talk to his teams on Wednesday. The transatlantic balance of this equipment will be analyzed by employees and investors.
Site visits to reassure for a month
The Stellantis group was created in 2021 with the fusion of the French PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, Opel) and the Fiat-American Fiat-American Fysler. Europe represents the first group of the group in volume, but achieves most of its profits in North America, where the difficulties in 2024 have precipitated the fall of Carlos Tavares, former leader of PSA. Now, the automobile manufacturer of the fourth world is much more inclined over the United States, with two Italians from the Fiat-Chrysler group, Antonio Filosa and the heir to the founding family of Fiat, John Elkann, president of the Board of Directors.
Since the announcement of his appointment at the end of May, Antonio Filosa has tried to reassure by dedicating his first visit to the Peugeot Historical Factory, in Sochaux (Doubs). Then he went to Italy, Spain and Germany, to the factories as with the sales teams, Stellantis said. After a similar tour in the United States, it was Wednesday at the Slovak factory of the group that manufactures Citroën C3 and Thursday in France with dealers. He must continue his European tour this week, Stellantis said, which is placed in the steps of his predecessor Carlos Tavares.
“In this next crucial phase of Stellantis’s development, Antonio shows a real understanding of our industry, our company and its employees, which considers our main strength,” said John Elkann at the end of May.
Reliability and US Customs Duties
There are many challenges for Antonio Filosa and his team: if Stellantis recorded record margins during his early years, his market installments and his profits sank in 2024. The manufacturer’s brands have found several serious reliability problems, especially with Puretch and Takata airbags, Breakdow managers and serious accidents. A first event announced by Stellantis on June 2 must answer it: the Sébastien Jacquet French, veteran of PSA engineering, replaced Antonio Filosa as global quality director.
The manufacturer must also face the storm of American customs duties and potentially repatriate part of its important Mexican production in the United States. In Europe, Stellantis must recover market share and convince hesitating buyers in front of still expensive electric cars, while accelerating the development of their supply of more affordable hybrid vehicles. The launch of the Fiat Grande Panda, hybrid and electric on Tuesday in Turin (Italy), must symbolize this acceleration.
“Decisions quite quickly”
Antonio Filosa, who entered Fiat in 1999, was sent to Brazil in 2005, where the staircase rose for almost 20 years before becoming, at the time of merger, the director of operations from all over South America, a continent where Stellantis dominates the market. In 2023, he was called to Auburn, Michigan, to direct the Jeep brand, one of the group’s florets. He recorded notable commercial successes, as with the Jeep Avenger, the first electric jeep and the chosen “car of the year” of the European press in 2023.
“He is an internal man who is ready to act. He fought for six months to be named (managing director). We will surely have decisions quite quickly,” said analyst Philippe Hauchois, from Jefferies, on Thursday during a French Lobby event.
Source: BFM TV
