Stellantis Names Company Veteran Antonio Filosa as Its Next CEO

Auto giant Stellantis has appointed Antonio Filosa as its next CEO. Filosa is a company insider and was heading the company’s Americas business. His appointment comes months after former CEO Carlos Tavares abruptly stepped down in December 2024. However, Filosa is stepping into the position at a time when Western automakers are facing turmoil amid competition from Chinese companies, slowing sales, and uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Stellantis said that it appointed Filosa “following a thorough search process of internal and external candidates, undertaken by a Special Committee of the Board, led by Executive Chairman John Elkann.”

Stellantis Appoints Filosa as Its CEO

In its release, it added, “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, the depth and span of his experience around the world, his unrivalled knowledge of the Company and his recognized leadership qualities.”

In his prepared remarks, Elkann said, “Antonio’s deep understanding of our Company, including its people who he views as our core strength, and of our industry equip him perfectly for the role of Chief Executive Officer in this next and crucial phase of Stellantis’ development.”

Tavares Stepped Down as Stellantis CEO in December

In December, Tavares stepped down as Stellantis CEO, a position he had held since early 2021 when the company merged with Fiat Chrysler to create a global automotive behemoth. The company owns brands like Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot, Ram, Jeep, Maserati, and Opel and is the fourth largest automaker globally.

2024 was been troublesome for Stellantis and its sales fell 27% YoY in the third quarter. Importantly, its sales in North America, which account for the bulk of its profitability, fell 42% over the period.

The company’s US business was quite challenged, and its dealers had highlighted rising deliveries in a letter. Stellantis’ relations were the UAW (United Auto Workers) were also strained, and the union welcomes the resignation of Tavares.

Reactions to Filosa’s Appointment

The stock market has been quite lukewarm to Filosa’s appointment, and Stellantis’ share is trading slightly lower today.

“After all those months, they chose an internal candidate? It strikes me as almost a fallback solution… I think that explains the tepid share price reaction,” said Angelo Meda, Head of Equity at Banor Sim.

Not all agree with this view, though, and Fabio Caldato, a portfolio manager at AcomeA SGR, which owns shares of Stellantis, believes that given Filosa’s understanding of the US market, which he was heading, and his knowledge of the local culture, makes him a good choice.

“His operational rather than financial curriculum is further proof of Stellantis’ quest to have a CEO prepared to handle both its business revival and its wider transition to electrification,” said Caldato.

Italy’s Industry Minister Adolofo Urso, too, endorsed the move to appoint Filosa and said, “A great choice […that ] confirms the renewed centrality of Italy in the group’s strategy.”

Peugeot Family, which is the second largest shareholder of Stellantis, also backed the move and said, “We have full confidence in his ability to engage into a new step of transformation, at the service of brands, clients and collaborators of the company.”

They added, “His fine knowledge of ground realities and his intimate understanding of the industrial culture of Stellantis are assets to put Stellantis on a new operational trajectory based on excellence of products, closeness with markets and commitments of the teams.”

Unions Call for a Wage Hike

The union’s response was quite measured, though and Samuele Lodi, National Secretary of the Italian Federation of Metalworkers said, “It is necessary to quickly address the problems, which without an industrial plan for Italy to relaunch research, development and production, also risks compromising the economic results needed to increase investment.”

He added, “It is necessary to put workers first by increasing wages and confronting the future employment to encourage regeneration. The appointment of the new CEO also requires the reopening of a strategic discussion with the prime minister’s office.”

Stellantis Withdrew its Guidance

Meanwhile, Stellantis continues to battle multiple problems. The company’s sales fell 14% in the first quarter, and it withdrew its annual guidance. To be sure, Stellantis is not the only company withdrawing its guidance, and several other automakers have done so amid the uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs.

Earlier this month, Ford also suspended its 2025 guidance amid the tariff uncertainty. While it posted better-than-expected numbers for Q1, Ford warned of a $1.5 billion hit from the tariffs. However, Ford said that if not for the tariffs, it was on track to meet its 2025 guidance of adjusted pre-tax earnings between $7 billion-$8.5 billion.

GM Cut Its 2025 Guidance

Rival General Motors also held back its guidance during the Q1 earnings release but later slashed its forecast, warning of a hit of up to $5 billion from the tariffs. It lowered adjusted pre-tax earnings guidance to between $10 billion and $12.5 billion, versus the previous guidance of between $13.7 billion and $15.7 billion

Similarly, it cut the adjusted automotive free cash flow guidance to between $7.5 billion and $10 billion, compared to the previous guidance of between $11 billion and $13 billion.

During the earnings call, CEO Mary Marra said, GM has increased its direct purchases in the US for North American production by 27% since 2019, and over 80% content in its US assembled vehicles is USMCA compliant.

According to Barra, “As tariff policy came into focus, we increased full-size pickup production at our Fort Wayne truck plant, which was already running 3 shifts by approximately 50,000 units on an annualized basis, and we are developing plans to further increase U.S. vehicle production.”

She added, “GM teams are also working directly with our suppliers to further increase their U.S. content and drive even higher levels of USMCA compliance.” GM is also increasing the production of battery modules in the US, which Barra said is “a low-cost way to increase U.S. content.”

“We have had continual discussions with the President and his team since before the inauguration. They have invested the time to understand what it takes to be successful in this capital-intensive and highly competitive global industry, how we can work together to grow American manufacturing, and the importance of companies like GM to communities across the country,” said GM CEO Mary Barra in the shareholder letter.