Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as “arrogant” mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker’s U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.
Tavares said the convergence of three factors led to the problems: not selling down vehicle inventory fast enough; manufacturing issues, specifically with two unnamed plants; and lack of “sophistication in the way to go to market.”
“We had a convergence of three things that should have triggered, from me and nobody else, an immediate task force to address those things,” he told media Thursday after the company’s investor day at its North American headquarters. “When I’m saying that you are arrogant, I’m talking about myself. I’m talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there.”
During the investor day, Tavares and his top lieutenants broadly updated investors on the company’s operations and how Stellantis plans to achieve ambitious financial targets amid industry and economic uncertainty. The company also reconfirmed its 2024 guidance and vowed to continue to return capital to shareholders going forward.
Tavares did not elaborate on the manufacturing or go-to-market problems, but Stellantis’ inventory of vehicles leads major U.S. automakers as the company has held back incentives and cut marketing budgets. Stellantis’ U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue.
STLA shares docked 83 cents, or 3.9%, to $20.25.
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