Almost a year ago, the headline read: " Thunderclap at Stellantis: Carlos Tavares has resigned ". A year later, the former head of the Franco-Italian-American automotive group has broken his silence. In a lengthy interview with Le Point to mark the publication of his book Un pilote dans la tempête, Carlos Tavares reveals the truth about his sudden departure, his disagreements with John Elkann, and his gloomy vision of Europe's industrial future.
"I didn't like the nauseating communication claiming that I'd been sacked".
The former executive, now 67, received journalist Olivier Ubertalli in his home town of Tomar, Portugal. Always hyperactive, he now divides his time between restoring classic cars, managing hotels and preparing racing cars.
But in his speech, the bitterness remains.
"One evening in December, while I was on the Estoril circuit, John Elkann called me and mentioned a loss of confidence in me. Trust is a two-way street. I was there to execute a validated plan, and I was told: no, you have to stall and go back to the pits."
Carlos Tavares insists he has left Stellantis out of conviction, not compulsion. He rejects the version of a disguised dismissal:
"I didn't like the nauseating communication that claimed I'd been kicked out."
In his view, the real disagreement was over electrical strategy. While some board members wanted to slow down, he wanted to speed up the transition so as not to "miss the turn of the century".
An "extremely violent" industry
The former boss of PSA and Stellantis, known for his outspokenness and rigorous management style, makes no secret of his pessimistic view of the automotive sector.
"The automotive industry is extremely violent. It is losing control of its destiny due to external factors such as tariffs, regulations, geopolitical issues..."
For Tavares, today's managers are caught in a vice between regulators, investors and public opinion. And he believes that many talented people will leave the industry in the next few years, fed up with an environment that has become "toxic" and "ungrateful". He even predicts a "brutal and ferocious consolidation" of the European automotive sector, transforming the car into a mere consumer object, "like a refrigerator".
"Being a boss is an extremely risky job".
Criticized for having left Stellantis with a sum estimated at 35 million euros, Carlos Tavares fully assumes his remuneration, which he justifies by the level of risk of the position.
"Being a boss is an extremely risky job. Why do we accept that a soccer player earns 100 million a year, but not that a boss earns 20 million?"
The ex-executive recalls that he was a stockbroker for the French state, and sees PSA's turnaround as repayment of this debt to France. But today, he doubts the country's ability to reform.
"Can France pull through? I have real doubts. Can it reform without violence? I'm not sure."
"By no longer accepting success, we lead to failure".
In his book, Tavares denounces a society that, in his view, rejects merit and hard work.
"Poor company that no longer accepts that an executive should have 90 % of his salary indexed to results. By no longer accepting success, we lead to failure."
This was a direct dig at Emmanuel Macron, who had publicly criticized the amount of his remuneration when he left Stellantis.
On the question of electric cars, he is just as trenchant: in his view, the European Union "made a major mistake" by trying to impose the 100 % electric car too quickly, thus opening up a boulevard for Chinese manufacturers.
A lucid, sometimes bitter view
One year on from his departure, Carlos Tavares doesn't seem to have turned the page on the automotive industry, but rather to have drawn lessons from it. In his words, his passion for the car remains, as does his anger at an industry he deems to have been "handed over to politics and bureaucracy". And if his book is entitled "A Pilot in the Storm", it's perhaps because, even without a steering wheel, Tavares continues to observe the road with a racer's eye.
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As always, everyone has their own ideas. CT is an enthusiast, but he seems to forget that in reality, the 80% of the automotive sector is just a business like household appliances! Just look at why DeMeo left Renault... he's going into the luxury sector where it's still not just business.
The problem with Tavares' management can be seen concretely in the production of the C3 and Grande Panda: these models are riddled with bugs, and some of them will have to be redeveloped to achieve decent sales. Cost killing is often very expensive...
The car is a consumer object like any other, that's true enough. Most drivers are happy to drive around in a moving car, while those with a real interest in cars are in the minority. Many buy an XXL multimedia screen with as many driving aids as possible, without any concern for driving pleasure.
The forced march towards electric vehicles has benefited cheaper Chinese cars, but Europe is now taking a step backwards, at least in terms of dates.
Tavares leaves a catastrophic balance sheet for most of Stellantis' brands, he should be ashamed.
Stanislas, you seem to have forgotten the period 2014-15 when PSA was almost bankrupt!?
Have you forgotten Stellantis' record profits of 19 billion in 2023?
From 2014 to 2023, reports hailed by the whole world! and by everyone at the time.
Afterwards, I'd agree that it was to the detriment of reliability, but Marchionne with the non-investment of his brands did much worse before 2021 for much longer.
After 2024 was catastrophic ... But now, it's everyone else!?
We'll have to add a few nuances!
Under Marchionne, the models were quite reliable. The Giulietta, the Panda, the 500, the Tipo, the MiTo, and of course the Giulia and Stelvio: you knew what you were buying and you weren't betrayed by the product.
It's a good thing the models were reliable... They had double or triple their normal careers, because there was no investment to replace them.
But the PSAs of the time were also very reliable.
Like THP and BlueHDI models? Oops... You'd almost forget that PSA was close to disaster in 2014.
n...
I've had HDIs then THPs ... apart from the injectors, the 2011 HDI with over 300,000 km still runs ... and my more recent THP is now reputed to be very reliable!
Afterwards, I'll keep my fingers crossed that I've made it through?
So very reliable PSAs also existed before!... since they're still on the road in 2025.
"PSA was close to disaster in 2014." Financial bankruptcy ... YES!
Tavares has saved the group... But don't say that in 2025!
You want to compare with FCA maybe. ... Until 2021!?
I've read the whole thing and... I still hate it.
On another planet, the man embodies everything he denounces...
A bit like you, then. Blah, blah, blah to say nothing but untruths 😉
@Hans please be more respectful otherwise I won't validate future comments.
What can I say, C. Tavares is in denial about reality, and what's more, a champion of self-amnesty!
One of the worst managers in the car industry!
On the other hand, those who choose an Alfa Romeo do so for specific reasons: exceptional roadholding, rear-wheel drive by default, and traditional styling and lines, often signed by prestigious coachbuilders. And the nameplate on the side. This implies specific platforms and furnishings, investment in technical solutions specific to the brand, and participation in competitions. At Alfa, this has historically been Formula 1 and the DTM. All of which are being methodically destroyed by management.
Default propulsion. Too funny that one. The thousands of fans of the alfasud salute you. Without it, there wouldn't have been an Alfa for a long time, given the rear-wheel drive crap of the 70s...
When it comes to style ... tastes and colors . The current Giulia is appreciated in Asia by some enthusiasts because it represents the Must in the Hyundai style of the 2000s 🤣. To each his own 👍🏾
Because one model is a counter-example (so is the Arna), Alfa would be a traction specialist? That's clearly Lancia's role. Besides, the Alfasud is more a social program than an Alfa Romeo model...
Before the current Giulia and Stelvio... A sort of benchmark for modern propulsion.
Alfa rear-wheel drives were cars from another era.
Were the 146/147 164/166 and 156 propulsion units?
So somewhere along the line, Alfa, also for economic reasons, became a traction specialist!
Unfortunately, did the Giulia and Stelvio period work for Alfa!???
You have to have the courage to face reality!
... ah yes, Junior, so traction is saving the brand from extinction in the meantime!
a model? for someone who claims to know Alfa. The 156, arguably the most beautiful Alfa sedan in history (and it saved the brand for a time), was a rear-wheel drive?
The 159 is the most beautiful, well maintained and still turns heads (thanks Giugiaro). I know all these models, thank you. All aficionados will remind you that they were developed on Fiat platforms, in Turin (and for the 159, with a Holden V6, the height of sin). All will tell you that the original Ferrari V6 and the Giorgio platform were a veritable renaissance.
Then to describe an Alfa Romeo 2000 as a "rear-wheel drive turd" is a bold statement...
Incapable of recognizing the errors of excessive, purely financial, short-term management, neglecting product quality, the only guarantee of a company's longevity!
Unable to combat the unrealistic and, above all, excessive focus on electric vehicles, a suicidal electoral ideology that gives the keys to this industry to the Chinese!
And now the Italians have taken the reins! The predictable changeover!
What do PSA's directors think?...
A PEUGEOT retiree... 35 years at home!...
Goodaps, Stellantis platforms are multi-energy: so there's no excessive orientation towards electric, people have a choice?
European gigafactories are closing for lack of orders ... Where is the fault of the Chinese?
Here too, we need to be careful.
Customers want cheap EVs... For a while only the Chinese could do it!
Is Spring European?
The e-C3 will be more European ... while waiting for a European battery.
I'll play devil's advocate, but he's not responsible for all Stellantis' problems. PSA was all about profitability, FCA was all about paying dividends. At the expense of profits and reinvestment. The exact opposite of what PSA was doing. It's partly for this reason that FCA was on the brink of a precipice (yet to come).
And it's this policy that has become the norm, thanks to Exor's majority shareholding. CT is just a fuse. His approach was a failure, but Filosa will have the same mission to accomplish. But in a different way. Above him, there's always Elkann.
Die Autos der 80 er und 90 er waren auch Schrott, Visa war billig , Fiesta schaffte nicht einmal 100ts Kilometer und ein 2cv rostete nach zwei drei Jahren , es waren immer nur billige Kühlschränke, ha ha 🤣
Kauft doch gute Schuhe ihr trottel
This guy wanted to be more royalist than the king by betting everything on electric cars, and right away. The result is that Stellantis no longer sells anything. For example, he wanted to make Maserati a 100% electric brand, but Maserati no longer sells anything, and even fewer Folgore models!
amoroso, I'm not so sure!
Thermal alternatives never ceased to exist and collapsed like all the other groups.
Stellantis has never bet on the 100 % electric ... On the contrary!
The product plan for the 90 % Maserati range is still the responsibility of the former FCA ... not Stellantis.
By the way, since Tavares' departure, almost a year ago, sales have increased?
wrong again. electric Maseratis pre-date CT. in fact, it should have closed the box, it was the only valid solution. CT was too kind to the Italians.
Tavares, was at fault in the lowering of tune-ups that ruined the reliability of recent Stellantis models.
But for the 90 % of Italian brand problems ... Tavares, has a good back to be the culprit!
Tavares, is Portuguese ... He can't be a Turk's head!
The other groups aren't doing much better... he wasn't in charge!
Poor darling, he couldn't bear to be sacked after substantially hurting all the Stellantis group's brands. All sales figures (except Peugeot) have been in the red since 2024!
And don't forget that Monsieur brought in the Chinese Trojan horse via Leapmotor. Anyway ...
Nicolas
That's easy to say in 2025...
Over 10 years ... 9 years in the green.
And Stellantis is the only one who sells badly???
The Chinese Trojan horse...?
With the WTO and EU, it would have gone in anyway, except that they make money by being shareholders.
Extremely violent, but with tens of millions of euros at stake and a golden life....so stop complaining.