Stellantis has launched 50 ‘war rooms’ to become a global leader in quality… while generating huge cost savings

After hiring engineers on a massive scale and making quality its top priority, Stellantis is now moving on to the next phase. The automaker has set up nearly 50 «war rooms» dedicated to quickly resolving quality issues. This crisis response effort is led by Antonio Filosa, who aims to achieve visible results quickly.

The CEO of Stellantis revealed this at the Automotive News Congress, held in Detroit on September 30. Behind this very military-sounding phrase lies a simple method: bringing together in one place all the expertise needed to identify a problem, understand its root cause, and fix it without wasting any time.

Nearly 50 teams working to track down defects

«We’ve launched nearly 50 war rooms dedicated to quality,» explained Antonio Filosa. These teams bring together numerous engineers, quality specialists, production managers, and engineers who work with suppliers. Each team focuses on components or systems considered a priority. The goal is to avoid overly lengthy decision-making processes between engineering, factories, and suppliers when a defect is identified. Antonio Filosa asserts that this organizational structure now makes it possible to correct problems «very, very, very quickly.».

This initiative is a logical continuation of the shift that began when he took the helm of the group. As we mentioned in February, Stellantis had acknowledged to have gone too far with cost-cutting measures and had begun rebuilding its engineering teams. A few weeks later, the group confirmed that More than 2,000 engineers had been hired by 2025, many of which are dedicated to quality assurance. The «war rooms» now show how some of these new forces are being deployed in the field.

Stellantis aims to be among the best by 2028

Antonio Filosa makes no secret of the fact that the group has a long way to go. In recent years, several vehicles and brands have faced challenges that have weighed on perceptions of their quality. Automotive News specifically notes the software issues encountered during the launch of the electric Dodge Charger Daytona. Jeep and Ram also scored below average in certain U.S. J.D. Power studies focused on quality and reliability. Stellantis has therefore set a specific goal: by 2028, the group aims to rank in the top quartile for quality—in other words, among the top 25 %—across all segments and markets where it operates. «We will get there,» promises Antonio Filosa.

Improving quality… while saving $7 billion

The challenge is all the more interesting because Stellantis is not giving up on reducing its costs. Alongside the 50 «war rooms,» the automaker is rolling out its «Value Creation Program,» which involves approximately 3,000 engineers as well as the purchasing and quality teams.

The stated goal is substantial: approximately $7 billion in savings by 2028. The challenge, therefore, will be to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Under Carlos Tavares’s leadership, the constant pursuit of cost savings had, by the new management’s own admission, ultimately gone too far—particularly when it came to the engineering workforce. Antonio Filosa is now attempting to fight both battles simultaneously: making Stellantis more competitive while genuinely improving its cars.