The US is still buffering the decisions of Stellantis led by Tavares
Among Stellantis' countless US problems, the Group's dealers are now accusing Carlos Tavares of having "made short-term decisions" which have reduced market shares and led to the "rapid degradation" of the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler
Carlos Tavares probably hoped to have nipped at least part of the problems that Stellantis has in the US in the bud, tweaking the industrial projects just enough to silence the UAW protests . But apparently he was too optimistic: once that front was closed, another one immediately opened: that of the dealers ( here is the public letter sent by the dealers to the management ).
US STELLANTIS DEALERS ACCUSE TAVARES
The Detroit Free Press writes: “Dealers of the US automaker have publicly expressed their concerns about the direction of the company in the face of declining sales and market share, prompting a stern response from a company that would prefer to keep the dispute behind closed doors."
“The National Council of Stellantis dealers – we read in the newspaper of Detroit, the American capital of the automotive world -, in an open letter sent to the CEO Carlos Tavares, declared that it had raised the alarm to the company's managers in the United States for over two years, warning that the path taken by Tavares would be a long-term disaster."
THE TAVARES GUIDE? “A DISASTER”
But what is the exact content of the letter that became public?
“A disaster not only for us, but for everyone involved – and now that disaster has arrived,” reads the letter , which underlines how the dealers' intent is to sound the alarm not only for Tavares, but also for the company's board of directors, employees, investors and suppliers.
The letter from the American retailers speaks precisely of "reckless short-term decision-making" or "reckless short-term decisions" taken by top management to guarantee record profits last year, with devastating but entirely predictable consequences on the US market such as " rapid degradation” (“rapid degradation”) “of the company's iconic American brands, Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Dodge”, i.e. of the iconic brands that the Group owns in the USA.
A chauvinistic streak which, in the midst of the electoral campaign, risks forcefully entering the political debate and bringing back American intolerance for European leadership placed at the wheel of their most important car manufacturers.
Compared to the tones of the letter written by the US dealers of Stellantis, those used a few weeks ago by the charismatic Shawn Fain , leader of the US United Automobile Workers union – the only one to have managed to simultaneously paralyze three car manufacturers simultaneously – who, commenting on the half-yearly had said : “Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is a disgrace and an embarrassment to a once-great American company. While GM and Ford report fantastic profits and increased sales, Stellantis is going backwards.”
THE STELLANTIS REPLICA
Stellantis' reply was irritated, more than by the content of the criticism for the public methods: “We meet and talk monthly, we have weekly calls and personal conversations at the highest levels. This is how this dialogue should take place. We do not believe that public personal attacks, such as the one contained in the open letter against our CEO, are the most effective way to solve problems. We have started a journey – they continue from the US branch of Stellantis – which will prove to be successful. We will continue to work with our dealers to avoid public litigation that will delay our ability to deliver results."
THE AMERICAN CLASS ACTION
But the troubles that Stellantis will have to face in the United States are not over as a trial could be upon us. For some American shareholders , Carlos Tavares would have artificially inflated the share price for much of 2024 by making “extraordinarily positive” assessments on inventories, pricing power, new products and operating margin. All numbers contradicted by the disappointing half-yearly report. Hence an unprecedented class action on which US justice will be called upon to express its opinion. Yet another problem for a group that is increasingly losing ground in the USA.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/gli-usa-tamponano-ancora-le-decisioni-di-stellantis-a-guida-tavares/ on Sun, 15 Sep 2024 14:27:42 +0000.