Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told reporters Wednesday that the steady stream of issues facing the auto industry over the past few years has better prepared those involved for what’s ahead.
Chaos, it seems, might have its virtues, including for an automaker that Tavares described as “possibly the most resilient carmaker in the world right now.”
“The good thing about chaos is that when you add chaos to the chaos you don’t see so much difference,” Tavares said during a virtual roundtable connected to the Detroit auto show. “We have been managing this industry in the last few years in a health-related chaos, supply chain-related chaos, regulatory chaos and now energy (related) chaos,” a reference to an energy crisis unfolding in Europe.
That energy crisis, related to Russia’s threats over the supply of natural gas, could lead to a particularly challenging winter in Europe, one of the company’s top markets and manufacturing locations.
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Tavares said the automaker is already planning a “portfolio of initiatives” to address the energy crisis. That could mean even more remote working, not working on weekends or simply avoiding work when the energy supply is tight.
He noted that the issues, however, go beyond the auto industry, and they show that Western society is not well prepared to deal with these kinds of disruptions.
Tavares was attending the 2022 North American International Auto Show on Wednesday as part of its media day, and the visit to the show by President Joe Biden prompted the shift from an in-person meeting with reporters to an online setting.
Tavares, whose company counts Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Peugeot and Opel among its brands, touched on numerous topics, including the state of auto shows, which were already experiencing an identity crisis even before the pandemic upended event planning.
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When asked specifically about the Detroit auto show, Tavares described it as more “frugal” than in the past, but he indicated that that can be a good thing.
Everyone, he said, is looking for a return on investment in a business-friendly way. Auto shows of the past might have been seen as wasting resources, which could have opened the door for people to opt to not to return. The auto show shouldn’t be made for the “egos of the top executives” but rather to showcase what the automakers have.
A more customer-friendly approach is better, he said, noting that auto shows still play an important role.
“We have learned the hard way that when there’s no show something’s missing,” Tavares said, referring to cancellations of auto shows around the world during the pandemic.
He said that in the Detroit area it’s clear that people are really passionate about their cars.
He was asked about the joint electric vehicle battery plants that the automaker is building – one is planned for Windsor, Ontario, and another is planned for Indiana – and whether the workers would be unionized.
If the workers wish to be unionized, then of course they will be, he said.
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“We are very fine with unions. … We have zero problems with the unions,” Tavares said, indicating that that includes any of the company’s locations worldwide.
The company and union might disagree on specific topics, but unions play a key role, he said.
“Many times they are asking us to fix things that indeed need to be fixed,” Tavares said, noting that good dialogue with unions can make the company more competitive and that it’s important for the company to be able to discuss issues with others.
His comments followed a short-lived strike at the company’s 1,200-worker Kokomo Casting plant and an “alleged refusal to repair and replace the plant’s air conditioning and heating systems,” according to the Associated Press, which reported Monday that union members had returned to work after ratifying a deal with the company.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.