Stellantis CEO cites failures in US operations, ready to compete head-on with Chinese EVs

abcnews.go.com:

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has expressed dissatisfaction at the operation of some U.S. plants on Thursday as the automaker struggles with lower shipments and falling revenues

MILAN — MILAN (AP) — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares expressed dissatisfaction at the operation of some U.S. plants on Thursday, and took responsibility for not reacting quickly enough to address that issue, the problem of inventory backup, and tackling a “suboptimal” marketing strategy.

Tavares said the three issues, which hit as the company struggles with lower shipments and revenues, were not tackled in a timely fashion out of arrogance.

“When I am saying we were arrogant, I’m talking about myself, nobody else. I’m talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately, recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there, and we had to set up a task force to address them,’’ Tavares told an investor conference in Auburn Hills, Mich.

“If you have a marketing strategy that is suboptimal, at the moment when your inventory grows and your plants start having problems, you think that you can fix each of the issues in isolation, but if the three things happen at the same time, it is more difficult,’’ he acknowledged.

He said the plant inefficiencies in terms of supply, quality and costs were becoming clear in the fall of 2023 as market conditions deteriorated when the automaker and its U.S. competitors were locked in negotiations with the United Autoworkers Union.

In the meantime, he said, the issues at at least two U.S. plants, which he did not identify, were being addressed. “It is not rocket science. It is something we have done tons of times, everywhere in the world,’’ he said, adding that the problem needs to be fixed “in the