Automaker Stellantis says CEO Carlos Tavares will retire in 2026

The struggling auto giant Stellantis said late Thursday that its CEO Carlos Tavares will retire in 2026 when his contract runs out.

Late last month Stellantis cut its profit forecast, citing efforts to improve its US business as well as competition from Chinese automakers.

In a statement Thursday night the US-French-Italian company, whose brands include Chrysler, Citroen, Fiat and Jeep, announced senior management changes in addition to the departure of the CEO.


It said Doug Ostermann, until now the head of operations in China, will become chief financial officer and replace Natalie Knight, who is leaving the company.

The company, which also makes Maserati and Dodge cars, said on September 30 it expected an adjusted operating income margin of 5.5 to 7.0 percent -- not the double-digit growth it had anticipated.

In a statement Thursday, the group said: "To drive simplification and enhance organisational performance in a turbulent global environment, Stellantis today announced targeted management changes, effective immediately."

Tavares, who is from Portugal, said earlier this month during a visit to a Peugeot plant in France that he might retire in January 2026.

"In 2026, the person sitting answering you will be 68 years old -- that's a reasonable age to retire. It's an option," Tavares told reporters at the factory in Sochaux, located in eastern France.

Stellantis said the headhunt for a replacement for Tavares is already under way.

It has been assigned to a special committee that is supposed to wrap up its work in late 2025.

Stellantis is the result of the merger in 2021 of Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler.

In electronic trade after the session closed Thursday in New York, Stellantis shares were up 0.36 percent.