Shares in Jeep owner Stellantis skid after CEO quits

PARIS — Shares in Stellantis, a multi-brand auto giant that includes Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot-Citroen, plunged in Paris Monday after chief executive Carlos Tavares abruptly resigned.

The French-Italian-American group's stock price was down more than 8 per cent at 11.48 euros ($12.07) in morning deals, the biggest drop among companies of the blue-chip CAC 40 index.

Stellantis's board had announced in October that Tavares, 66, would retire in 2026 when his contract runs out.

But the group said Sunday that its Portuguese chief executive was resigning "with immediate effect".

"In recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the board and the CEO coming to today's decision," independent director Henri de Castries said in the statement, without giving details.

Stellantis said an interim executive committee led by chairman John Elkann would run the company until a new CEO is named in the first half of 2025.

Tavares, who headed Peugeot-Citroen, was made CEO of Stellantis when the French automaker merged with Fiat-Chrysler in 2021 to form the new group.

The company, whose 14 brands also include Maserati, Ram and Chrysler, has struggled in its key US market where dealerships have had a hard time selling vehicles deemed too expensive.

In late September, Tavares, who earned 36.5 million euros last year, abandoned his goal of double-digit margin, an indicator of profitability, for the group in 2024.

Stellantis downgraded its profit outlook for 2024 after its net income was cut in half in the first six months of the year.