Carlos Tavares just slammed the eject button on his role as CEO of Stellantis, leaving the world’s fourth-largest automaker in a tailspin. After months of plummeting US sales, unsold vehicles piling up like junkyard wrecks, and a chorus of rage from both workers and dealers, Tavares decided he’d had enough. His abrupt resignation, announced Sunday, is the exclamation point on what’s been an unrelenting trainwreck of a year for Stellantis.

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Let’s not sugarcoat this—Stellantis has been choking on its own exhaust fumes for months. Just two months ago, the company issued a dire profit warning for 2024, forecasting a cash burn of €10 billion ($10.6 billion). The North American market—once the automaker’s golden goose—has turned into a black hole of unsold inventory and disappointing sales.

How bad is it? Sales of Jeep, Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles cratered 17% in the first nine months of 2023. Meanwhile, Ram 1500s and Jeep Wagoneers are rotting on dealer lots for an average of 112 days—nearly three weeks longer than their Chevrolet and Ford rivals. You could practically grow moss on these trucks before someone buys one.

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Tavares, once hyped as a savior for orchestrating the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group, has been reduced to a scapegoat for Stellantis’ freefall. Dealers, unions, and workers alike have sharpened their pitchforks, blaming him for steering the company into this mess.

Meaning, if Stellantis’ dealers were already fuming, Tavares just gave them more fuel for the fire. Kevin Farrish, head of the company’s US dealers’ council, tore into Tavares earlier this year, accusing him of prioritizing his own paycheck over the company’s long-term health. And he wasn’t wrong—Tavares pocketed a cool $36.8 million in 2023, making him the highest-paid CEO in the industry.

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Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers union has been sharpening its knives. Stellantis has been slow to reopen its Belvidere, Illinois plant, a move the UAW says violates the terms of last year’s labor contract. Add to that the 2,300 layoffs at Stellantis’ Michigan and Ohio plants, and you’ve got a union ready to go nuclear. UAW President Shawn Fain didn’t hold back, calling Tavares’ exit “a major step in the right direction” and slamming him for leaving behind “painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles no one wants.”

Which is understandable considering Stellantis’ vehicles are stupidly expensive. By the fourth quarter of 2023, the average Stellantis car sold for $58,000 in the US—second only to Tesla. While competitors like Ford and GM kept their pricing somewhat in check, Stellantis’ sky-high sticker prices alienated its core buyers. And let’s be real, who’s dropping nearly $60K on a Ram or Jeep when the competition is cheaper and just as reliable?

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This pricing fiasco isn’t just a bad look; it’s a financial sinkhole. Stellantis’ bloated inventories and dwindling sales have tanked its stock by 42% this year. For comparison, Ford is down just 8%, and GM? Up a ridiculous 55%. Yeah, it’s that bad. So, what does Stellantis do? Let Tavares stay and try to fix the mess he arguably helped create? Hell no. The board, led by John Elkann (the Fiat-founding Agnelli family’s golden boy), accepted Tavares’ resignation with what we can only assume was a sigh of relief.

Tavares’ departure wasn’t just a “personal decision.” This was the board shoving him out the door after “different views” emerged between him and Stellantis’ power players. Translation: Tavares wanted to keep driving the bus off the cliff, and the board finally yanked the wheel.

(Source: NPR) 

For now, John Elkann will chair an interim executive committee while Stellantis scrambles to find a new CEO by mid-2025. Word on the street is that the company could tap an American exec to clean up the US market disaster. If ever there was a time for fresh blood and bold ideas, it’s now. But let’s not kid ourselves—whoever steps in will inherit a flaming pile of problems. Between furious unions, alienated dealers, overpriced inventory, and sinking market share, Stellantis is in full-blown crisis mode.

In the end, Carlos Tavares’ exit doesn’t solve Stellantis’ problems—it just highlights how deep they run. The automaker needs a miracle to pull out of its nosedive, and unless its next CEO can turn things around fast, Stellantis risks becoming the cautionary tale of the auto industry. In the meantime, the company’s future looks about as bright as a dim headlight on a clunker Jeep Wagoneer sitting unsold on a dealer lot. So yeah, place your bets accordingly friends.

And as always, stay safe and stay frosty! Until next time…

P.S. It’s Black Friday weekend, and if you miss out on this 90% OFF deal that expires in less than 36 hours, well, then… you probably weren’t cut out for these absolute FIRE alerts anyway. Spoiler: Friday's alert popped 130% BEFORE the markets even opened. 

Stocks.News holds positions in Ford and Tesla as mentioned in the article.