Stellantis, new CEO Filosa visiting Mirafiori where the new 500 hybrid will be produced

Handshakes, smiles, a tight schedule. Mirafiori is the first stop on the tour of Stellantis' Italian factories for the new CEO Antonio Filosa, who received his mandate unanimously from the group's board of directors and will formally take up his post on 23 June. Filosa was in Paris yesterday as he began a tour of the Group's historic factory in Turin at around 8am, in the company of Stellantis European head Jean Philippe Imparato, the Group's head of human resources and global head of plants.

Filosa's tour started from the Mirafiori coachworks, where the electric 500 and the prototypes of the new Fiat 500 hybrid are produced, the model on which Stellantis is betting to increase the production volumes of the plant that will see the transfer of Maserati's production lines to Modena. After the Mirafiori bodyworks, Filosa will visit the Battery Technology Centre, the Group's only global battery testing centre, the plant for electrified transmissions and gearboxes for hybrid cars, and other engineering departments. In the afternoon he will meet the Italian market managers and other Group executives.

Antonio Filosa comes from a 25-year career within the Group, with top positions starting in South America and then heading the American market, after the shake-up of Carlos Tavares' exit. Filosa has been Chief Operating Officer for South America, head of Jeep and since last December Chief Operating Officer for the Americas. A 'veteran' as chairman John Elkann calls him.

How many challenges will he have to face? Many, starting with the fact that he is at the helm of a Group that has suspended its financial guidance to first assess the impact of US duties and has seen a drop in production, sales and margins in all geographies. In Europe, the uncertainties of the transition to electric cars are weighing heavily; here, Stellantis' drop in registrations in recent months is easing but has cost the Old Continent a couple of points in market share, from 17% to around 15%.

Tavares' 'government' has shifted production to plants in Poland and Serbia, for example, creating friction in core governance countries such as Italy and France. This is the case with the new Jeep Avenger, the Fiat 600 and the new Pandona. An issue that is also felt beyond the Alps, so much so that the French trade unions have called for discontinuity with respect to Tavares. This aspect too will have to be considered in the coming months, in order to sustain a fruitful political dialogue with the two countries, starting with Italy. It will be necessary to understand whether the Italy Plan presented in December will have to have adjustments in the run-up to support still declining volumes even in the first quarter of 2025.