Stellantis CEO cites failures in US operations, ready to compete head-on with Chinese EVs

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press

MILAN (AP) — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has expressed dissatisfaction at the operation of some U.S. plants on Thursday as the automaker struggles with lower shipments and falling revenues. He took responsibility for not reacting quickly enough to address that issue, the problem of inventory backup, and tackling a “suboptimal” marketing strategy. Tavares said the three issues were not tackled in a timely fashion out of arrogance. Stellantis, the maker of Jeeps and Ram pickup trucks, has been struggling, with first-quarter global shipments falling 10% from a year earlier to 1.34 million, and revenues dropping 12% to 41.7 billion euros ($44.8 billion). Sales in the U.S., a big cash generator, were down 14%, as the market share dropped to 7.7% the lowest in years.