'Mr Tavares, would you like to sell us those brands?': Stellantis CEO says group resisted pressure to sell Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and more to keep its brands European

At the launch of the Alfa Romeo Milano, the CEO of its Stellantis parent company, Carlos Tavares, made explosive claims about “fake news” that the group was going to dismantle Fiat, and that he had resisted pressure from inside and outside the company to sell both Italian and French brands to Chinese automakers.

Tavares says he is on a mission to keep the group European, despite the fact it encompasses a huge number of disparate automakers under its corporate umbrella.

“Fourteen brands. Some of our competitors, western competitors, thought ‘these guys are going to be dizzy, they’re not going to be able to manage so many brands'."

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"Surprisingly, we had inside of the company people saying, ‘Mr CEO, you should kill some of those brands' and outside of the company some people are knocking at the door, ‘Mr Tavares would you like to sell us those brands?’"

“It took me less than one second to say, are you kidding me? Alfa Romeo is possibly the greatest jewel we have in our powerhouse of 14 brands, so of course, I said no.

“Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, the same thing happened for another brand. This time it was a Chinese company knocking at the door. They said would you like to sell me this brand. I will not mention which one… It was a French one. And I said of course not!

“So this is a way to say that we love brands because they represent the history of human beings,” he said.

Under Tavares’ lead, Stellantis has turned around many of its business units since the super-group was created from the remains of once-ailing Fiat Chrysler and PSA (Peugeot Citroen) groups.

Peugeot has gone from strength-to-strength in Europe, with the group’s French divisions posting strong sales.

But while Tavares says he “loves brands”, the CEO famously gave each of the group’s 14 brand CEOs 10 years of funding from 2021 to turn the brand around, or face elimination. "For the time being, we love them all and you cannot kill what you love," he said at the time.

Thus far, Peugeot has gone from strength-to-strength in Europe, with the group’s French divisions posting strong sales. And Tavares’ leadership has turned Opel around from a laggard under General Motors ownership to a growing brand with a fresh line-up based on common platforms shared with Peugeot.

While the group’s French and German divisions are proving themselves, Stellantis’ current focus, and its most intense battleground, on the sales front and politically, is Italy.

The brand owns two of the country’s most iconic marques, Fiat and Alfa Romeo, but both are yet to prove themselves competitive. Still, Tavares says the level of investment Stellantis is making in Italy proves the best is yet to come despite media reports that the group might seek to off-load parts of its business.

The brand owns two of the country’s most iconic marques, Fiat and Alfa Romeo, but both are yet to prove themselves competitive.

“The unfair criticism addressed to some people in our company that we have fake news about the fact that Stellantis would not stay in Italy, that Stellantis would dismantle Fiat; my position is very clear. These [stories] are fake news.”

“The fact that we are here today with the Milano is evidence.

“We are investing more than five billion Euros in Italy, we are introducing 15 new models, we are creating one gigafactory for battery sales internally, we are investing in two new platforms at our sites, we have a plan for each plant.

“We have a vision. We know where we are going and we are not doing it the conventional way, which means some people may have a problem to understand that, perhaps they cannot understand it,” he said.

And Tavares’ leadership has turned Opel around from a laggard under General Motors ownership to a growing brand with a fresh line-up based on common platforms shared with Peugeot.

Tavares’ comments are a thinly veiled swipe at criticism of the announcement that the Milano will not be built in Italy, but will instead be the first Alfa Romeo to be built outside of Italy, at a plant in Tychy, Poland.

Some have even argued it may be forbidden under Italian law which states Italian-sounding products must be built in Italy, according to Reuters.

However, the group’s new hybrid dual-clutch transmission to be used in the new Milano will be built at the brand’s rejuvenated Mirafiori Automotive Park in Italy. The new ‘eDCT’ plant is capable of producing 600,000 transmissions annually. The site will also host a new battery development plant and a ‘circular economy’ recycling facility among other things.

“It is not the conventional stuff, when we are bringing an economy hub to Turin, a battery lab which will create the chemistries of the future which will make this car more light and therefore more dynamic and sporty,” Tavares said.

The Italian government is already in talks with Tesla and Chery to bring more manufacturing to Italy.

Tavares also warned that inviting Chinese automakers to Italy would be counterproductive, and hinted he doesn’t consider such moves to be in Europe’s best interests, reiterating that Stellantis would not be selling off Fiat or Alfa Romeo.

“We feel at home in Italy, we make unconventional things. Those who would be dating with Chinese carmakers, to invite them to come to Italy are on the same path as those who sold Volvo to Geely and MG to another Chinese carmaker. My friends, this is not going to happen at Stellantis, this is not going to happen at Alfa Romeo,” he said.

According to Reuters, the Italian government is already in talks with Tesla and Chery to bring more manufacturing to Italy.

Tavares reportedly said in follow-up comments at the launch of the eDCT plant in Turin that "If someone wants to introduce Chinese competition, they would be responsible for the unpopular decisions that might have to be taken."

“We might not need so many plants as we have now. We're ready to battle, but in a battle there are casualties," he said.