Instead of making any immediate decisions, Tavares is giving brand leaders 10 years, during which they will have funding along with the chance to build and carry out a long-term vision. “We love them all,” Tavares said of the brands. “You do not kill what you love.”
Brand heads will be given an opportunity to “plan for the different product launches and different technologies to make the brand grow, or the brand rebound, and create value for the company so they have a chance,” Tavares said last week during Automotive News’ Congress Conversations series.
Tavares believes giving executives a decade to execute a vision is unique in the industry.
“How many brand CEOs in the world have visibility of a 10-year funding for technology and product to organize the growth?” he asked. “That is what we are giving them so they have a chance. If they win, we will applaud. If they lose, then we will see what we do.”
Tavares touched on a variety of topics during the interview, including his outlook on China, the development of the merged company’s culture and how Stellantis completed the union two and a half months sooner than planned.
Preparations for the blockbuster merger had to be carried out during a pandemic that upended society and forced the auto industry to adjust how it produced and sold vehicles. The FCA and PSA teams, who Tavares said were tremendously efficient, were able to complete the tie-up quicker than anticipated despite a process that included the filing of 12,500 documents from December 2019 to January 2021.
Looking ahead, Tavares sees Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East as regions where Stellantis can continue to grow.
He said the company already is strong in Latin America, where it’s a market share leader, but he said it can still be more efficient there. In Africa and the Middle East, Stellantis is gaining market share and has “very significant plans to enhance the capability to source in the region for the region,” he said.
India is progressing, but the automaker is looking to address weakness in China.
“We are now, as you know, reengineering completely our strategy in China, as it has not been successful both for FCA and PSA in the past,” Tavares said. “So we are now negotiating and changing very many things at core — not on the surface, but at core.”