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, long stationed in Brazil and then in the United States, embodies the radical turn taken by the automaker, after the era of the very Francophile Carlos Tavares.
Antonio Filosa, almost 52 years old (he will have them on Thursday), was so far director for North and southern America of the group at 14 brands, as well as World Quality Director.
He must announce the new management team of Stellantis on Monday. He will then speak to his teams on Wednesday.
The transatlantic balance of this team will be scrutinized by employees and investors.
The Stellantis group was created in 2021 with the merger of the French PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, Opel) and the Italian-American Fiat-Chrysler.
Europe represents the first market of the group in volume, but it achieves most of its profits in North America, where difficulties in 2024 have precipitated the fall of Carlos Tavares, former leader of PSA.
Now, the fourth world car manufacturer is thinking much more towards the United States, with two Italians from the Fiat-Chrysler group, Mr. Filosa and the heir to the founding family of Fiat, John Elkann, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Since the announcement of his appointment at the end of May, Mr. Filosa sought to reassure by devoting his first visit to the historic factory of Peugeot, in Sochaux (Doubs). He then went to Italy, Spain and Germany, to factories as with sales teams, Stellantis said.
After a tour similar in the United States, it was Wednesday in the Slovak factory of the group which manufactures the Citroën C3, and Thursday in France with dealers. He must continue his European tour this week, said Stellantis, putting himself in the footsteps of his predecessor Carlos Tavares.
‘In this next crucial phase of the development of Stellantis, Antonio shows a real understanding of our industry, our company and its employees, which he considers our main strength,’ said John Elkann at the end of May.
Quality
There are many challenges for Antonio Filosa and his team: if Stellantis recorded record margins during his first years, his market shares as well as his profits plunged in 2024.
The manufacturer’s brands have encountered several serious reliability problems, especially with Puretech engines and Takata airbags, managers of breakdowns and serious accidents.
A first appointment announced by Stellantis on June 2 must answer it: the French Sébastien Jacquet, veteran of engineering at PSA, replaced Mr. Filosa as a 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 regain market share and convince hesitant buyers in front of still expensive electric cars, while accelerating the development of its more affordable hybrid vehicle offer.
The launch of the Fiat Grande Panda, hybrid and electric on Tuesday in Turin (Italy), must symbolize this acceleration.
Antonio Filosa, who entered Fiat in 1999, was sent to Brazil in 2005, where he climbed the ladder for almost 20 years before becoming, at the time of the merger, the operations director for all of South America, a continent where Stellantis dominates the market.
In 2023, he was called to Auburn, Michigan, to lead the Jeep brand, one of the group’s florets. He recorded notable commercial successes, as with the Jeep Avenger, the first electric jeep and elected ‘car of the year’ by the European press in 2023.
‘He is an internal man who is ready to act. He fought for six months to be appointed (Managing Director). We will surely have decisions fairly quickly ‘, said analyst Philippe Houchois, from Jefferies, Thursday during a French automobile lobby event.
/ATS
