Giant carmaker could split up

It’s been 10 months since former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares left the company and now he claims the multinational carmaker giant could face a potential breakup.

As reported by Bloomberg, Tavares said in his new book that Stellantis’ French, Italian and US operations might need to go their separate ways if it fails to overcome rising pressure from a number of external stakeholders.

“I am worried that the three-way balance between Italy, France and the US will break,” said Tavares in his book.

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“With me gone, I am not sure that the French interests that I always had at heart — whether you believe it or not — will be as well defended.

“One possible scenario, and there are many others, could be a Chinese manufacturer one day making a bid for the Europe business with the Americans taking back the North America operations.”

Tavares was CEO of Stellantis when it was formed up until December 2024. During his tenure the company lost market share in the US and Europe that resulted in a haemorrhaging of profits.

Tavares also shifted producing and engineering operations to lower-cost countries like Morocco, which prompted labor union opposition and angered the Italian government.

Stellantis’ current CEO Antonio Filosa was appointed in June 2025 and is attempting to stabilise the company, while also dealing with the fallout from Trump's tariffs, among other pressures.

Filosa has already scrapped some of the company’s European investments, instead pledging to invest US$13 billion (~A$20 billion) in the US. This has historically been the company’s most profitable market.

Stellantis has also temporarily shut several production facilities in Europe where plants operate below capacity.

This has reportedly concerned French and Italian labor unions, however Filosa claims more flexible emission regulations are required in Europe before local production can bounce back.

In Australia, virtually every Stellantis brand has experienced a slide in vehicle sales.

In the first nine months of 2025 sales of Alfa Romeo vehicles are down 23.2 per cent year-on-year (YOY), Fiat sales are down 24.4 per cent, Fiat Professional is down 8.6 per cent, Peugeot sales are down 32.6 per cent, Maserati has dipped 28.2 per cent and Ram sales are down 16.6 per cent.

The latter two brands are distributed in Australia by Ateco Automotive, while Peugeot operations are managed here by Inchcape. Stellantis Australia manages Jeep, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Leapmotor and Alfa Romeo.

Citroen left the Australian market in 2024 after over 100 years of sales.