Can Chrysler (Stellantis) be Saved This Time?

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Transcript:

Opening Banter

Craig: But I like a cut more. Can you do a jump cut—wait, don’t hit me! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever said.

Ever since the Plymouth Breeze went out of production, it’s all been downhill for Chrysler.

Jim: You’re very passionate about that.

Craig: The Plymouth Breeze was a seminal product—all the cloud cars were.

Jim: What’s going on at Chrysler these days? And by Chrysler, I mean Stellantis, since no normal person really calls it that.

Craig: I call it that, and I’m normal.

Jim: Are you though?

Craig: We might have to agree to disagree.

[Applause / Music]

Welcome to JY Hall Knows It All right here on Automotive Esoterica. I’m journalist Craig Cole, and this is automotive expert Jim Hall. Great to see you again, Jim.

Jim: How are you, Craig?

Craig: Doing all right. So—Stellantis. It sounds like one of the small bones in your hand, but it’s actually a giant multinational automaker. Recently, their CEO Carlos Tavares resigned—earlier than expected, since his contract ran until early 2026.

Jim: Big news, yes, but not exactly shocking if you follow Stellantis. The surprise was that he was still there.

Setting the Stage

Craig: What’s the issue then?

Jim: Well, look at Jeep and Ram. Those should be selling like hotcakes, yet their inventory is swelling far beyond competitors. In a market dominated by SUVs and trucks, that’s a problem.

The Ram is actually a great truck—arguably the best full-size pickup on the market—so the issue isn’t product quality. It’s management. Running a car company remotely from another continent, with a boss who thinks he knows everything, doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Craig: Stellantis has a lot of brands too.

Jim: Exactly—13 or 14 depending on how you count them. I call them “The 13 Lucky Brands” in the Stellantis constellation. But the question is: why was Tavares still running it when things were clearly going south?

Carlos Tavares’ Story

Jim: Tavares started his career with Renault, then went to Nissan during the Renault–Nissan alliance. He returned to Renault, worked closely with Carlos Ghosn, and was later poached by PSA—Peugeot, Citroën, and DS.

When PSA acquired GM’s European operations, then Fiat Chrysler (FCA), Tavares became the logical choice to lead Stellantis.

Chrysler’s Checkered History

Craig: Chrysler’s history is… complicated.

Jim: That’s putting it politely. It started in 1925 with Walter P. Chrysler buying Maxwell, then Dodge Brothers. Over the years, Chrysler would rise and fall—doing great work one decade, then selling itself the next.

The “partnership of equals” with Daimler in the late ’90s was supposed to stabilize things, but profits mostly flowed back to Stuttgart. Then came Cerberus Capital Management, which wanted the finance arm more than the car business. That didn’t end well.

Eventually, Fiat picked up Chrysler for pocket change—mainly to get access to the North American market, plus the crown jewels: Jeep and Ram.

Craig: And that worked out… for a while.

Jim: Right. FCA actually managed the brands decently. But they always wanted to merge with GM, which was a little crazy.

Can Jim Name All 13.5 Stellantis Brands?

Craig: Let’s see if you can name all the Stellantis brands.

Jim: All right: Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Vauxhall, and Opel.

Craig: That’s 13.

Jim: Right. And some people include Abarth, but I consider that a trim level, not a separate brand.

Stellantis Is Kind of a Mess

Craig: So Stellantis is part American, part Italian, part French—and headquartered in the Netherlands.

Jim: Correct. The Agnelli family still controls a large chunk through their holding company. It’s a complex structure, and managing all those overlapping brands makes no sense. PSA already had too many—then they bought Opel and Vauxhall, which directly competed with their own lineup.

Craig: Like Ford buying Chevrolet.

Jim: Exactly. It adds no growth and just burns cash competing against yourself.

2023 Was a Banner Year, 2024 Not So Much

Craig: Last year seemed strong for Stellantis.

Jim: 2023 was a banner year—huge profits. Everyone thought Tavares was a genius. But 2024? Not so much. Sales are down, inventory is piling up, and the stock has lost about 40% of its value.

Craig: And the products themselves are still good.

Jim: Right. So it’s not the cars—it’s the management.

Is There a Single Point of Failure?

Jim: There’s no single cause. It’s a perfect storm: overproduction, market disconnect, and cost-cutting gone too far. Tavares focused heavily on platform consolidation—fine in Europe, disastrous in North America, where the vehicles are larger and brand identities matter.

Jeep’s DNA can’t just be slapped onto a Peugeot crossover. That badge has meaning. Diluting it hurts the brand.

Craig: Especially when most Jeep owners never go off-road anyway.

Jim: True—but it’s about image. When you stop caring about capability, customers notice.

Could New Products Save Stellantis?

Craig: So how does Dr. Hall fix Stellantis?

Jim: Ideally? Go back four years in a time machine. The U.S. market is unique—you need leadership on the ground who understands unions, dealers, and buyers here.

Under Sergio Marchionne, FCA had that. Stellantis doesn’t. The current leadership feels disconnected from the realities of the U.S. business.

Craig: Who should the next CEO be?

Jim: Hard to say. The Agnelli family still has control, so whoever comes next needs to balance European priorities with American realities. But please—don’t bring back Bob Nardelli.

Craig: He “did a job” last time.

Jim: Yeah—a job that set it up for Fiat to take over.