Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press
4 min read
In This Article:
Antonio Filosa is starting a new job and keeping his old one.
Filosa officially began as the CEO of Stellantis — the international automaker that owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and more — on Monday, June 23. Filosa, who has been with Stellantis-affiliated brands for over 25 years, rose to CEO from his latest gig leading operations in the Americas and product quality across the company.
In assigning a leadership team on his first day, Filosa announced he plans to maintain oversight of North American operations while serving as CEO.
On Filosa's first day of work, the automaker announced several details — including his prioritizing of North America — that provide some insights into what Stellantis may look like under his lead.
Filosa, 51, is succeeding Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Tavares was the first CEO of the company following a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot S.A. Group in 2021. During Tavares' tenure, Stellantis consistently slipped in profits and maintained a reputation with employees and dealers that proved difficult to resolve. Tavares resigned in late 2024.
During Tavares' tenure, he attracted the ire of United Auto Workers — who launched strikes and subsequent "Keep the Promise" campaigns when they felt Tavares failed to hold up Stellantis' end of the bargain — as well as North American auto dealers.
Frustrated U.S. Stellantis dealers took an extraordinary step in September to write a public letter chastising Tavares and the company's operations. Calling Tavares' leadership "reckless," the dealers said their hallmark American brands were floundering.
"The reckless short-term decision-making to secure record profits in 2023 has had devastating, yet entirely predictable, consequences in the U.S. market," the letter read.
Filosa, though, has generally received positive marks from North American dealers who feel he is more in tune with their market.
According to analyst Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, the move to emphasize North America makes sense from a business perspective.
Note to the next Stellantis CEO: First thing, kill these 4 brands
"North America is the most important region to Stellantis on a profit level," Fiorani said. "Between Ram and Jeep, the revenues from those brands correct any shortfalls from other brands around the world."
Fiorani expects Stellantis to position the brands even more aggressively in the coming months.
"In the next six months or a year, we should really see some solid moves to better position at least Jeep and Ram, if not the rest of the North American brand," Fiorani said.
