With the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France's PSA Group to form Stellantis completed in January, everyone remains eager to see what CEO Carlos Tavares has planned for the new automaker's 14 brands.
Fortunately Tavares isn't interested in retiring any of the brands just yet, including the likes of Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Lancia which each have lineups consisting of three models or less.
Autocar reported on Wednesday that Tavares said Stellantis is committed to a 10-year investment for each of its brands during a speech he made at this week's Future of the Car Summit hosted by the Financial Times.
“My clear management stance is that we give a chance to each of our brands, under the leadership of a strong CEO, to define their vision, build a roadmap and make sure they use the valuable assets of Stellantis to make their business case fly,” he said. “We’re giving each a chance, giving each a time window of 10 years and giving funding for 10 years to do a core model strategy.”
Carlos Tavares
In addition to the three brands mentioned above, Stellantis also controls Abarth, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Opel/Vauxhall, Peugeot and Ram.
It doesn't mean there won't be any major cuts. For instance, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato in April said Alfa Romeo's still-new Giorgio rear-wheel-drive platform will be phased out in favor of group-wide modular platforms. This will be key as Stellantis makes moves to electrify all of its brands.
We could also see some brands changed, such as Chrysler which might be transformed into a mobility company. Tavares has previously described Chrysler as having the tradition of being the expression of “automotive American technology,” and has said there may be an opportunity to connect Chrysler with new areas such as “autonomous vehicles, zero-emission vehicles, highly connected vehicles.” This ties in with comments made in 2018 by former FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne that Chrysler could become the “mobility solution” in the U.S.
Stay tuned.
