Carlos Tavares, recently-ousted CEO of Stellantis, is a man of strong opinions. He wanted the company’s vehicles to be more expensive to buy, cheaper to produce, and greener — a series of objectives that put him at odds with his staff, according to a new report. Those goals also led him to his move most noteworthy for enthusiasts: Killing off the Hemi V8 everywhere he could.
CNBC spoke with Stellantis employees who worked with Tavares, and all paint a similar picture: A man who thinks he “know[s] everything,” who doesn’t take advice, and who wanted the Hemi V8 dead. Tavares was all-in on EVs during his time at Stellantis, and it showed:
Several sources said executives tried multiple times to deprioritize the company’s emphasis on electric vehicles or, at the very least, launch gas-powered models before EV models to maintain sales, but Tavares was dismissive of such actions.
Sources said Tavares’ cost-cutting measures also included simplifying vehicles such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee while increasing its pricing above market norms; outsourcing critical engineering work to lower-cost countries and consultants such as France-based Capgemini; and micromanaging budgets and decisions to a point where U.S. leaders felt they had their hands tied behind their backs. A notable one included killing the automaker’s popular V-8 Hemi engines.
“Everybody wanted to keep [Hemi],” said one source. “But it was, ‘You need to be greener’” and there was little to nothing they could do to change the decision.
Pushing for EVs right now is, in isolation, a good move. The future of private vehicles is electric, and everyone inside and outside the industry is coming around to that conclusion one way or another. Tavares’ methods, however, don’t seem like prudent business. Killing off a product line before you can replace it, while slashing budgets across the company with the goal of doubling profit margins, is a recipe for a bad time.