Stellantis gears up for Trump’s America
Just before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the scion of Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family John Elkann joined a swelling list of high-powered executives to visit the returning US president.
As ever with Trump, a deal was on the cards. Days later, the Dodge and Jeep maker Stellantis, which Elkann chairs, committed to invest $5bn across its US car factories.
The move is part of Elkann’s plan to turn around the struggling carmaker, after the company parted ways with charismatic but uncompromising chief executive Carlos Tavares last month.
Stellantis’s share price has cratered in the past year as it has struggled with a shortfall in demand for its cars. Tavares’s unrelenting style also damaged relations, not least with US dealers saddled with high-priced vehicles they were unable to shift.
Since Tavares’s departure, Elkann has jetted across Europe to improve relations with the leaders of Italy, France and the EU, cancelled lay-offs in the US and refreshed Stellantis’s management teams.
His visit to Trump may prove the most important step yet in his strategic reset.
Beyond the $5bn investment, Elkann is betting that he can use Trump’s EV scepticism and deregulation push to Stellantis’s advantage.
He told Trump he would back the new administration’s shift away from Joe Biden’s EV targets. The carmaker will launch a number of new models in 2025, across hybrid, electric and petrol formats.
While Elkann may have won Trump’s favour, there are challenges ahead. The company continues to supply the US from Canada and Mexico, who are both threatened with tariffs.
And whoever Elkann chooses as Stellantis’s next chief executive will face the same challenges as the rest of the car industry: increasing competition from China and a long-term slowdown in new car sales.