Italian auto executive Antonio Filosa was named on Wednesday as the new chief executive officer of Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest carmaker, replacing Carlos Tavares, who resigned under pressure last year, as the U.S.-European group navigates tariffs and slumping North American sales.
Filosa, who is currently Stellantis’ chief operating officer for the Americas and chief quality officer, takes the post effective June 23, when he is expected to announce his leadership team.
The move returns the running of Stellantis, created from the 2021 merger of France’s PSA Peugeot with Italian-U.S. carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, to Italian hands after three years under Tavares, who previously served as Peugeot’s top executive. John Elkann, heir to the Fiat-founding Agnelli family, remains chairperson.
Elkann praised Filosa’s "deep understanding of our company, including its people, who he views as our core strength, and of our industry.”
Robert Peugeot said the board’s choice was unanimous, calling Filosa a "natural choice” due to his leadership track record and knowledge of the business and "the complex dynamics facing our industry.”
Stellantis said it would call an extraordinary shareholder meeting in the coming days to elect Filosa to the board to serve as an executive director of the company.
"Meanwhile, to give him full authority and ensure an efficient transition, the Board has granted him CEO powers effective June 23," the statement said.
"The Board selected Antonio Filosa to be CEO based on his proven track record of hands-on success during his more than 25 years in the automotive industry," Stellantis said.
Filosa joined Fiat in 1999, spending much of his career in Latin America, where he held positions from plant manager to head of purchasing and later chief operating officer.
He was promoted to chief operating officer of the Americas in 2024 in an executive shakeup as sales slumped in North America, its main source of profits.
Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot, Fiat, Ram trucks, Dodge, Chrysler and Maserati, has been lagging globally in the transition to electric powertrains and facing stiff Chinese competition, and has struggled with falling sales in its key North American market.
Analysts also have said Stellantis, with 14 brands, is yoked by too many underperformers, including Maserati and Chrysler.
U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on the car industry have added to the company's woes.
Last month, Stellantis dropped its annual financial guidance due to uncertainty over the levies.
Tavares had engineered one of the most ambitious mergers in automotive history in 2021 when more than a dozen brands, including Jeep, Fiat, Chrysler, Peugeot and Citroen, were put under the same roof.
The Portuguese executive, who headed French group Peugeot-Citroen at the time, was appointed chief executive of the newly created French-Italian-American behemoth Stellantis.
His three-year tenure was marked by high profit margins that were the envy of its rivals in the auto industry, but the good times ended last year as sales plummeted in the United States.
