Carlos Tavares Speculates About Possible Stellantis Breakup
According to a new report published by Bloomberg, former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares says that the company he resigned from could face a potential breakup.
In his new book, “Un pilote au coeur de la tempête” (A pilot at the heart of the storm) which was published in France on October 23, he wrote that he was worried “that the three-way balance between Italy, France, and the US will break” within Stellantis, adding that its survival as a company is dependent on its executives and managers paying attention to unity “every day” amidst the pressures of being pulled in multiple directions.
The former head of the 14 brand automaker, Tavares said that its French, Italian, and U.S. operations may break off on their own if it fails to appease its various stakeholders in their respective territories. The question for us is: Where would that leave Citroën — already seemingly deemed to be the economy brand within the Stellantis?
Stellantis, which was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Groupe PSA group, had Tavares at helm as CEO since its inception in 2021 and until his resignation and departure in December 2024.
Tavares introduced his “Dare Forward” plan for the company that relied on the creation of common vehicle platforms and a focus on electrification. He also made some very controversial cost-cutting decisions that not everyone at the company was on board with, including dealers in the United States. These included swapping metal parts for plastic ones on some of its higher-end vehicles and shifting production operations of certain brands away from countries like France and Italy to lower-cost countries like Poland and Morocco.
In a December 2024 CNBC reported that several former and current Stellantis executives and other U.S.-based employees described Tavares as a selfish leader who would sacrifice the business to squeeze out every last cent. In his past tenure at Renault under Carlos Ghosn, he gained a reputation as a brash businessperson who was unafraid to shake up high-ranking executives. One Stellantis-affiliated individual characterized Tavares as jaded and said that the pressure to cut costs felt like having a pistol “to your head.”
In a June 2025 interview with Bloomberg at his home near Lisbon, in his native Portugal, Tavares admitted that he could have done “tons of things” differently, noting that one regret he has is failing to bring US dealers on board with his cost-cutting agenda.
“The dealers in the U.S. did not want to support what we were trying to do, which is my responsibility,” he said. “Many things could have been done differently, but that doesn’t matter. The company is profitable.”