Carlos Tavares: Stellantis must not end up like Volkswagen

The CEO of the Franco-Italian group analyses the situation of the European automotive industry: these are critical times

Carlos Tavares at the inauguration of Pro One's new offices in Mirafiori

Photo by: Stellantis

By: Francesco Barontini

Published by: Brian Potter

Sep 18, 2024 at 4:42am ET

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Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, took the opportunity of the inauguration of the new offices of Pro One's commercial division in Mirafiori to comment on the difficult times facing the European automotive industry.

BMW is reporting lower-than-expected profits and Volkswagen, worse still, is planning to lay off 15,000 employees, admitting that there is no plan B.

But what is going on? The number one of the Italian-French group doesn't spare himself and touches on a number of burning issues. But more importantly, he insists on the question of fines for CO2 emissions exceeding the limits that will come into force in 2025.

Why did you make such unpopular choices?

"I'm against postponing the entry into force of the new rules", says Tavares, "we've known for years that stricter limits would be imposed next year and we've worked hard to be ready". The European Union has defined a framework within which carmakers must operate in order to compete fairly. It is not normal to change the rules of the game just a few months before the launch of this new challenge.

Tavares continued: "We have taken many unpopular decisions in the recent past. We have been severely criticised for that. But the only reason we acted in a certain way was to avoid going the way of Volkswagen. And, for the time being at least, we have managed to avoid such radical measures."

Carlos Tavares at the inauguration of Pro One's new offices in Mirafiori

Stellantis

The European car industry is in "survival mode".

"I have four grandchildren who are between 6 and 12 years old. I have a job to do for them too: Stellantis has to become carbon neutral by 2038. The European Union has asked us to reduce emissions and has set milestones along the way. New rules will come in 2025. My cars are ready, my staff are ready and our factories are ready. Why delay? Is global warming no longer a problem? At the moment, half of Portugal is on fire."

The Stellantis CEO went on to point out that when the European Union decided that we had to face the ecological transition, it did so to allow consumers to have the best possible products. We fight every day to ensure that they do. It's very difficult, but there's no turning back.

Maserati and Mirafiori?

Tavares also mentioned the fate of Maserati: "With Maserati, we have the right cars and the right technologies. We can offer both internal combustion and 100% electric luxury sports cars. If sales are low at the moment, it's a question of marketing. We've also made a lot of progress in terms of quality, but now we need to work on marketing. We lack prospects and leads, we need to reach potential customers and get the right message across for the right positioning."

But the Mirafiori lines for the GranTurismo and GranCabrio are working well. In fact, explains Tavares, at Mirafiori, all activities are healthy. From the circular economy to the production of gearboxes for hybrid powertrains, to the new Pro One unit for commercial vehicles. But "I don't have a crystal ball and I don't know what the future holds. The only thing is to work as hard as we can and make the right choices to defend Stellantis and the people who work at Stellantis."