Stellantis: Shares in Vauxhall owner plunge after boss’s shock resignation
Billions of dollars has been wiped from the value of Vauxhall owner Stellantis today after its chief executive resigned abruptly yesterday.
In a statement last night, the owner of Vauxhall said the board of directors had accepted Carlos Tavares’ resignation and would move to appoint a new boss in the first half of 2025.
Senior independent director Henri de Castrie said “different views” had emerged between Tavares and the board in recent weeks, ultimately leading to the decision.
The resignation comes after the firm last Tuesday placed more than 1,000 UK jobs at risk with plans to close its manufacturing facility in Luton and consolidate operations at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
The Dutch carmaker looked to blame the move on slowing private demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and tough new rules which impose fines on manufacturers in Britain who don’t hit certain zero-emission sales targets.
Car makers have fiercely lobbied against the ZEV mandate, which was introduced by the Conservative government in January.
However, Tavares’ departure questions the scale of the new rules’ impact on the group’s global operation, which has suffered a sharp decline in financial performance recently.
Shares in the company plunged more than seven per cent through Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, the Borsa Italiana and Euronext Paris, where the company listed. Stellantis shares are now down over 45 per cent this year.
The Guardian revealed last week that Stellantis’s finance chief Natalie Knight had told investors the company was “confident” it would be able to hit the ZEV mandate’s targets while turning a profit on its British sales just a few months ago.
The firm, which also owns brands such as Peugeot and Citreon, said it would stick to prior full-year guidance given in October, having already issued a profit warning in September.
Chairman John Elkann said: “Our thanks go to Carlos for his years of dedicated service and the role he has played in the creation of Stellantis, in addition to the previous turnarounds of PSA and Opel, setting us on the path to becoming a global leader in our industry
“I look forward to working with our new interim executive committee, supported by all our Stellantis colleagues, as we complete the process of appointing our new CEO.
“Together we will ensure the continued deployment of the company’s strategy in the long-term interests of Stellantis and all of its stakeholders.”