Automotive

Stellantis, an Italian at the helm: Antonio Filosa is the new CEO

Antonio Filosa, currently chief operating officer for the Americas and chief quality officer of the group, takes over from Carlos Tavares, who resigned on 1 December, and will be operational from 23 June

28 May 2025

5' min read

Key points

Who is Antonio Filosa
What are the main challenges for Filosa?
North America critical point (and financial guidance suspended)

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5' min read

The board of directors of Stellantis has unanimously chosen Italy's Antonio Filosa, 52, as its new CEO, 'following an in-depth search process for internal and external candidates' conducted by a special board committee headed by chairman John Elkann. Filosa takes over from Carlos Tavares, who had resigned on 1 December. The company will now hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, which will be called in the coming days, to elect Filosa to the board as the company's executive director. In the meantime, in order to give him full authority and ensure an efficient transition, the BoD granted him the powers of CEO as of 23 June. On that occasion, Filosa will also announce Stellantis' new management team. John Elkann will continue as executive chairman.

As stated in a note, 'the board of directors has chosen Antonio Filosa as CEO on the basis of his proven track record gained over more than 25 years in the automotive industry, his extensive experience around the world, his unparalleled knowledge of the company, and his recognised leadership qualities'.

Antonio Filosa led Stellantis in both North and South America. During his tenure as chief operating officer for South America, "he led the Fiat brand to market leadership and then significantly developed the Peugeot, Citroën, Ram and Jeep brands. His work in setting up the Pernambuco plant, one of the largest automotive hubs in South America, launched Jeep in Brazil, which has become the brand's main market outside the US.

"Antonio's deep knowledge of our company - including the people he considers to be our strength - and of our industry, means he is perfectly prepared for the role of chief executive officer in this new and crucial phase of Stellantis' development," said Stellantis chairman John Elkann, commenting on Filosa's appointment. "I have worked closely with Antonio over the past six months, during which time his responsibilities have increased and his leadership, leading both North and South America at a time of unprecedented challenge, has confirmed his excellent qualities. Together with the entire Board of Directors, I look forward to working with him,' Elkann said.

Chi è Antonio Filosa, nuovo Ceo di Stellantis

"It is a great honour for me to be appointed CEO of this fantastic company. We have the best and most iconic brands in automotive history and a tradition of innovation stretching back over 100 years. This history, combined with our commitment to providing our customers with the products and services they love, is the key to our success," is the comment of the new CEO of Stellantis. "I am grateful to our chairman John Elkann and the members of our board of directors," explains Filosa, "for their leadership, particularly in recent months, and for the trust they have placed in me to lead our company at such an important time for our industry. I have always been inspired by the immense talent, passion and commitment of our people and the professionalism with which our teams enable us to achieve excellence'.

The title Stellantis is not running, after the appointment of the new CEO.

Who is Antonio Filosa

Currently head of Americas and Quality, Filosa joined the Fiat Group in 1999, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, including plant manager of the Betim plant (Brazil) and head of Purchasing for the Latin America region. He has also been head of Argentina since 2016 and chief operating officer (COO) for the Latin America region of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles since 2018. In 2021 he was appointed COO for South America of the newly formed Stellantis, in 2023 he became CEO of the Jeep brand and in October 2024 he was appointed COO for North America. His responsibilities increased further in December 2024, when he was appointed COO for North and South America, and further in January 2025, when he was appointed Chief Quality Officer. Filosa holds a master's degree in engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and an executive MBA in business administration from Fundação Dom Cabral (Brazil). He currently resides in Michigan.

What are the main challenges for Filosa?

The new CEO of the fourth largest global automotive group is faced with a complex and multidimensional challenge: he will have to revive Stellantis' financial performance, drive the technological transition to electric, manage geopolitical and trade tensions (the tariffs wanted by Donald Trump, which have been on the upswing for weeks, would have a heavy impact on Stellantis), counter global competition and strengthen the group's internal cohesion. His international experience and operational approach are considered strengths, but success will depend on his ability to quickly implement effective strategies in a highly unstable and competitive environment. the negative trend in sales and market share, revive struggling brands, strengthen product competitiveness and lead a more integrated and synergetic group management. The increasingly selective and dynamic European competitive environment makes these challenges even more urgent and decisive for Stellantis' future.

In Q1 2025, Stellantis reported global net revenues of EUR 35.8 billion, down 14% compared to the same period in 2024. The decline was mainly due to lower volumes, unfavourable geographic mix and normalising prices, with North America being a major factor in this dynamic.

Global consolidated deliveries were 1,217,000 vehicles, down 9% year-on-year, mainly due to lower production in North America, caused by a prolonged production shutdown in January, range transition and weak demand in commercial vehicles. By 2024, Stellantis had already reported a 17% drop in net revenue and a 70% drop in net profit compared to 2023, with the operating margin falling from 15.4% to 4.2%.

North America critical point (and financial guidance suspended)

Sales in North America continued to decline in the first quarter of 2025, although the pace of decline eased slightly compared to 2024 (from -15% in 2024 to around -12% in early 2025).

However, there are initial signs of recovery: in March 2025, retail orders in the US grew by 82% compared to March 2024, reaching the highest monthly level since June 2023. In particular, retail sales of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Compass and the Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups increased by around 10%.

Despite these positive signs, the company has suspended financial guidance for 2025 due to uncertainty related to US duties and market conditions.

How it's going in Europe, the role of Fiat

In the EU+Efta+Uk region in the first four months of the year (Acea data) Stellantis registered 691,121 cars, down 9.6% compared to the same period in 2024, while the overall market was virtually stable (-0.4%). The group's market share dropped from 17.1% to 15.5%.

This figure signals a loss of competitiveness compared to the main competitors, especially the Volkswagen Group, which is growing in both volume and market share, and the Renault Group, which is up 7.7% in sales. Within Stellantis, only a few brands recorded growth: Peugeot (+4.4%), Jeep (+5.5%) and Alfa Romeo (+36.9%). However, other historic brands such as Fiat (-21.2%), Opel/Vauxhall (-15.3%) and Citroën (-16.3%) are experiencing strong contractions.This polarisation calls for a targeted relaunch strategy for the struggling brands, especially Fiat and Citroën, which are key to the group's presence in volume segments. Speaking of Fiat, the launch of the Grande Panda may indeed represent an important relaunch opportunity for Stellantis and Filosa, but its impact will depend on several factors. The first few weeks of sales have shown encouraging signs in terms of orders.

The data, however, show that Stellantis risks losing its leading role in the mass segments, where competition is becoming increasingly fierce from both traditional groups and new players, particularly the Chinese. In the presence of penalising European regulations, as Chairman Elkann and Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo recently underlined. Here the new ceo of Stellantis will have to make a difference.