May 28 (UPI) — Stellantis on Wednesday announced that Antonio Filosa, a top executive in the Dutch automaker’s Americas branch, will become its next CEO.
A Special Committee of the Board led by Executive Chairman John Elkann unanimously chose Filosa, who served as chief operating officer for the Americas and chief quality officer, to become the company’s top executive effective June 23.
“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,” Elkann said in a statement.
Filosa succeeds Carlos Tavares, who unexpectedly announced in October he would step down in 2026.
“We have the world’s best and most iconic brands in automotive history and an over 100-year heritage of innovation. That legacy, combined with our relentless dedication to giving our customers the products and services they love, will continue to be key to our success,” Filos said.
Stellantis brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
When Tavares announced he was leaving in October, Stellantis was dealing with dropping profits and sales and other issues in the United States.
“During this Darwinian period for the automotive industry, our duty and ethical responsibility is to adapt and prepare ourselves for the future, better and faster than our competitors to deliver clean, safe and affordable mobility,” he said at the time.
Stellantis will convene an extraordinary shareholder meeting within days to elect Filosa to the board.
The company said during his tenure in the Americas Filosa expanded Jeep’s global presence while “taking the Fiat brand to the market leading position.”
He also significantly grew the Peugeot, Citroen and Ram brands, according to Stellantis.
Among the problems Stellantis faces is the uncertainty and volatility created by the Trump administration’s tariffs.
In April Stellantis temporarily shut down four plants due to the tariffs. Workers at assembly plants in Mexico, Canada and the United States. were laid off.
The temporary layoffs affected 4,500 Canadian workers and 900 in the U.S. Workers at the Mexican plant continued to report to work but cars were not produced during the production pause.
In November, Stellantis delayed the launch of the Ram 1500 electric pickup, citing a “very significant amount of workload” and the need to carefully validate its products.
Stellantis experienced a 14% annual net revenue downturn in the first quarter of 2025, prompting withdrawal of its full-year performance guidance due to Trump tariff uncertainties.
