I think now-former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares was an interesting figure for just how unpopular he was. Sure, very few top executives get to where they are by making friends everywhere they go. But Tavrares was somewhat unique in how much he managed to make everyone mad at him; the employees, the unions, the board members, the suppliers and the customers are all probably thrilled to see him go. That's almost a talent in and of itself.
But Tavares was also the chief architect behind Stellantis, the bizarre conglomerate formed in a merger of Fiat Chrysler with France's Groupe PSA. What that company and its 14 car brands even are without him is an open question, and it comes right ahead of a crucial year on many fronts—including the electric one.
That kicks off the first Critical Materials news roundup of December 2024. We at InsideEVs hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, if you observed it. Also on today's docket: a Mercedes-Benz EV fire forces some big changes in South Korea, and can President-elect Donald Trump "open up" China's EV sector?
30%: Tavares Out At Stellantis. Now What?
It's hard to believe this, but we're not even four full years into the existence of the entity that is Stellantis, the cross-Atlantic holding company that owns Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Opel, Fiat and a bunch of other brands. That's a lot of mouths to feed; I'm not even sure it can be done. But now Tavares, the former CEO of the PSA Group, is completely out even before his planned early 2026 retirement.
Stellantis was formed on the idea that the car industry was facing a profound transformation the only way to survive it is through scale: combining the resources of these many brands to keep costs down and drive investments in the future. And maybe things would have gone differently if COVID-19 hadn't blown up the automotive supply chain and raised car prices, though Tavares' leadership is absolutely guilty of taking that and running with it.
In the end, Tavares' tenure was doomed on two fronts. He was dealing with the European auto crisis on his home turf—falling sales, increased competition from Chinese car brands and waning EV interest as subsidies vanished—and plummeting revenue in the lucrative North American market as people stopped buying these newly ultra-expensive Jeeps and Ram trucks. This side of the Atlantic paid more than half Stellantis' bills but Tavares' team was roundly accused of jacking up prices and starving Jeep and others of new products to fuel a renaissance for certain European brands like Alfa Romeo, which didn't work out, either. Now it's facing existential problems like plant closures, furious dealers and an unclear strategy for what's next. Profits were down nearly 50% this year as 2024 was set to be a kind of total write-off.
The thing is—and don't take this as a defense of Tavares, because I have no interest in constructing one—some positive changes were beginning to take shape. Jeep has a new CEO who's working to make its prices less unhinged and get new models on the road, and Stellantis is starting to show some real promise on the EV front after years of lagging behind. But in the end, it wasn't enough to save Tavares and he probably didn't deserve it anyway.
So now what? For one, there's the matter of succession. But as The Detroit News pointed out, Stellantis has a pretty thin bench these days; it witnessed a huge executive talent drain under Tavares and will be run by a committee in the interim, not an acting CEO. And Stellantis has a huge year ahead: it's supposed to launch the Dodge Charger EV, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S, the Ram 1500 Rev and Ramcharger EREV and more next year. That's just on the North American front; more are coming in Europe too. There are new EVs coming from Fiat, Peugeot, that deal with China's Leapmotor... a lot is going on right now.
From the News:
In North America, where revenue fell 42% in the third quarter and shipments were off 36%, it appears Stellantis has a "decent plan" for a turnaround, said Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Inc.
"It's a matter of letting it play out," she said. "They were making progress on adjusting pricing. They're making progress on not just making things cheaper, but trying to come up with a way to repackage and develop products that are giving consumers the right value.”
Next year, Stellantis needs to move forward with the several products it's launching — including high-profile EV offerings — and ensure those launches go as smoothly as possible, she said: “It's going to be a big year for them, and they need to have it go as smoothly as possible, and that means being able to handle whatever unexpected issues come up as well as possible.”
Good luck to whoever ends up in that job. They're going to need it.
60%: Korea's Mercedes Fire Sparks New EV Regulations
Here's the thing about lithium-ion battery fires: they're statistically far more rare than internal combustion vehicles, but far nastier to put out when they do happen. This is especially bad news in South Korea, a country with big EV ambitions but where most urban people live in high-rise towers. One Mercedes-Benz EV fire earlier this year (followed by another involving a Kia) has the country spooked about what could happen if these cars are parked underground. That Mercedes fire alone sent dozens of tower residents to the hospital and left 200 families temporarily homeless.
So now, according to Bloomberg, South Korea is making changes that the rest of the world should consider adopting:
The new set of regulations included mandating automakers disclose the brands of their batteries, expanding the scope of safety inspections for existing EVs and preventing vehicles from being fully charged.
The government has also directly stepped in to ensure the safety of batteries via a state-run certification system. The pilot project has been running since mid-October with five companies, including carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. as well as cell manufacturer LG Energy Solution Ltd., participating.
[...] Before the initiative, EVs were sold in South Korea without any third-party safety tests. Under the new system, state-run agencies like the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute will put batteries through their paces before installation, ensuring they meet government-backed safety certification standards.
Korea planted its flag early in the EV space and these days, it seems like every fourth or fifth car in Seoul is an electric Hyundai or Kia. The country doesn't want to back down after all those investments, so these should be seen as positive moves:
The Mercedes-Benz blaze was undoubtedly an unfortunate event, but it cast a much-needed spotlight on the issue and sparked calls for stricter regulations. Ultimately, it could serve as a wake-up call for South Korea to create a safer, more supportive environment for battery-powered cars.
Here's hoping.
90%: Can Trump Strike A 'Deal' With China's EV Makers?
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., the auto industry and buyers like are on pins and needles as they wait to see if incoming President Donald Trump will really act to kill the EV tax credit or if he's inclined to find some way forward that won't threaten manufacturing jobs in purple and red states. But there's also the question of China's automakers—currently kept out of the U.S. by tariffs and software restrictions—and what role they could play domestically. Trump has said in the past that he'd rather they build cars in the U.S. than overseas: “If they want to build a plant in Michigan, in Ohio, in South Carolina, they can, using American workers,” he said in March.
That's undoubtedly a scary proposition if you're Ford, or General Motors, or Volkswagen, or heck, even Tesla. But Steve LeVine at The Information (subscription required) proposes that Chinese EVs could come stateside as part of a broader trade deal with the country:
Yet there is reason to expect that Trump—after starting with maximal threats, like a 60% tariff he has vowed to impose on all Chinese goods—will favor a grand trade bargain in which the establishment of Chinese EV and battery factories in the U.S. would be a central feature. In exchange for that and other sweeteners to lower the U.S.-China trade imbalance, Beijing would seek reduced tariffs.
The reason: Trump, while unpredictable and prone to reversing course, would rightly view the potential for billions of dollars in investment, thousands of jobs and an improbable diplomatic breakthrough as a dealmaking coup that would burnish his legacy. For his part, President Xi Jinping “wants Chinese companies to dominate global markets in EVs and batteries,” said Ian Bremmer, president of geopolitical risk consultancy Eurasia Group. “Call it the Japanese model of the ’80s and ’90s. Global domination requires a global presence.”
So could this actually work out for the U.S.? In terms of upping its battery game, which badly needs to happen, the answer could be yes:
[...] the U.S. could unroll a welcome mat to Chinese factories a win as long as a company like BYD, China’s largest EV manufacturer, sourced most of its parts and materials from North America and shared its technical knowledge with his American employees. “I think it is in the interests of the U.S. to onshore the dominant Chinese EV maker,” he said. “An investment like this supports the build-out of an onshore EV ecosystem from critical minerals production and recycling to battery manufacturing and charging network development.”
But then again:
Now Trump has invited Chinese EV makers into the U.S., and part of that bargain would likely be that they share what they know with American rivals. “In a complete role reversal from the ’00s, when foreign [automakers] wishing to access the growing Chinese market were concerned about forced tech transfer, it is now Beijing at risk of inadvertently undermining its companies in international markets by helping competitors catch up,” said Bremmer, the Eurasia Group president.
The deal is likely to be only the beginning: CATL, Byd and other Chinese companies make most of the world’s LFP batteries, and U.S. LFP startups haven’t even begun to manufacture them. Depending on the arrangement Trump offers, CATL seems likely to seek other business in the U.S.—and to get a warm welcome from automakers seeking the cheapest and currently the best batteries. “The United States does not have [LFP] experts,” a CATL engineer said. “The Chinese industry can help build that local talent pool.”
That story's worth a read in full. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Big Oil also have Trump's ear more than most, so it's also hard to fathom he'll become deeply interested in competitive battery technology all of a sudden.
100%: Who Would You Pick To Lead Stellantis?
I've always been a fan of Ralph Gilles, the Chrysler-Fiat Chrysler-SRT-Stellantis design guru who's as responsible as anyone for America's 21st-century muscle car renaissance (and gets where the EV market is going.) He's a smart guy. But he may be too smart to want to take on that many brands.
Who should get the top spot at Stellantis next, and what must they do to right the ship?
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
