A few months after announcing the hiring of more than 2,000 quality engineers and made quality its top priority, Stellantis may have just made another strategic hire. The group, led for the past year by Antonio Filosa, has indeed recruited Kahiree Gans, who until now served as Tesla’s quality manager at the Gigafactory in Texas. While this move might seem insignificant at first glance, it comes at a particularly important time for the automotive group.
A man who is already familiar with Stellantis
Kahiree Gans is no stranger to the company. Before joining Tesla in 2023, the American engineer had already spent nearly ten years at FCA and then Stellantis, holding various positions related to powertrains, supplier quality, and manufacturing quality.
Tesla had then hired him to oversee quality control at the Texas Gigafactory, a strategic facility responsible, among other things, for producing the Model Y, the Cybertruck, and the American brand’s future projects, such as the Cybercab.
Three years later, the engineer returned to Stellantis in an even more senior role: global vice president of supplier quality development. He will now be responsible for overseeing supplier quality on a global scale, a particularly sensitive area for a group that produces several million vehicles a year.
The valuable experience gained at Tesla
In his farewell message posted on LinkedIn, Kahiree Gans looks back on his three years at Tesla. He explains that he helped improve quality processes that reduced warranty costs for the Model Y, while also supporting the launches of the Cybertruck and the Cybercab.
His experience at Tesla could be of particular interest to Stellantis. Tesla is known for its high-speed production methods, its heavily data-driven approach, and its ability to quickly identify quality issues on the factory floor. According to his own resume, the engineer has worked in particular on improving «First Pass Yield,» that is, the number of vehicles that meet specifications as they roll off the assembly line, as well as on using data to anticipate defects before they affect customers.
A key hire that is part of Stellantis' new strategy
This appointment comes a few months after statements by Antonio Filosa, who acknowledged the need to put quality back at the heart of vehicle development. The group has already hired several thousand additional engineers and strengthened the role of the quality division within its executive committee. The arrival of an executive who has worked at one of the most high-profile plants in the automotive industry therefore seems logical.
Admittedly, Tesla isn’t often cited as the gold standard for reliability or build quality. But the American automaker has made significant strides in recent years on certain quality metrics, particularly with the Model Y, which has become one of the world’s best-selling vehicles.
Stellantis obviously has no intention of copying Tesla. But the experience Kahiree Gans has gained in an extremely demanding industrial environment could bring new ways of working to the group. After years marked by cost-cutting, Antonio Filosa is now seeking to restore customer confidence. Hiring Tesla’s former head of quality won’t solve all the problems on its own, but it sends another clear signal: Stellantis seems ready to seek out talent wherever it can be found to sustainably improve the quality of its cars.
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Hiring the head of quality from Tesla—a brand known for and criticized for its lack of quality—is a masterstroke by Stellantis.
Well, no one is fooled—the goal is still, as always, to cut costs. Ideally without compromising quality, but certainly not by improving it.
According to a survey conducted by the EV Channel team, based on a panel of more than 3,000 people, Stellantis ranks last in terms of the quality of its models, last in battery durability (though it’s true that its battery packs have lower average capacities), and last in customer loyalty to the group’s brands. Tesla ranks first. «Fun fact»: among Stellantis models, the most reliable is… the 500e.
When it comes to brand loyalty, Tesla is kind of like a cult… But as for the rest, that really says it all!
No, it’s not a cult; it offers value for money that’s still unmatched among sedans (under 37,000 euros), particularly in terms of efficiency, along with a very extensive and affordable charging network—and the right software—that enables even a beginner to take long trips in an EV with little effort.
Tesla has been the gold standard for electric vehicles for 15 years!
And who isn't Chinese.
The boss is awful—that's a fact!
What makes one person special is not necessarily what makes another person special.
Cooperation can be extremely fruitful.
But Leapmotor too (unfortunately, too).
In that regard, @Fredo is absolutely right!
When you compare the reliability and build quality of a Giulia to that of a Tesla… It’s a no-brainer—you’ll leave the American car on the shelf.
The same could be said about the 508 vs. Tesla… but that’s off-topic too!
»Tesla isn't often cited as the gold standard when it comes to reliability or build quality.’ OH REALLY? Yet I just took delivery of my Model 3 to replace my aging Giulia, and my coworker has one with 600,000 km on it…When I sat inside, I went »Wow!” And there’s only one thing I thought to myself when I sat in my Model 3: the Alfa Romeo logo is missing, because that’s what we expected from Alfa: unbeatable value for money, exceptional performance, uniqueness, and sleek styling. Too bad it’s Tesla that’s taking cues from the Italians, but that’s the truth.
But reliability and build quality are two different things!
Teslas can be extremely reliable… and newer Peugeots can be fragile yet well-built.
One doesn't rule out the other. 😉
Cars across the entire Stellantis group need a major improvement in reliability; how do you achieve that—by improving product quality or, more specifically, by engineering them so they don’t fail prematurely? The latest 1.2 PureTech engine is a case in point: it burns oil, valves fail, etc. None of this should have even made it past the initial development stage, yet it made its way into the final products.
Yet another step in which Stellantis is very slowly leading itself—along with all its brands—to ruin. All these years at Stellantis have been a huge mess—one executive after another, specialist, and whatever other job title you can think of—they just keep bringing in yet another new person. It remains an unreliable mess over there, and no reliable product will ever come out of it. But don’t worry—they’re slowly but surely ruining themselves, so shop wisely and never buy a product from Stellantis.
I still remember Carlos Ghosn at Renault. He said something similar about quality at Renault. As a result, Renault once again became a high-quality brand. I had a 2018 Grand Scenic as a lease car, and I still look back on that car with fondness. I’m giving Stellantis the benefit of the doubt and look forward to a new generation of cars with much higher quality within the next 3–5 years.