Latest news with #FiatChrysler
Motor Trend
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
2026 Dodge Durango First Look Review: It's Survived Four CEOs
The remarkable thing about the Dodge Durango isn't only solely how long it's been on sale, it's also that it's remained fun to drive and somewhat competitive in terms of family hauling. Still, it needs an update, as the available safety and convenience technologies lag the segment's best. Sure, the engine lineup has been tweaked and the interior and exterior slightly updated here and there, but this three-row family SUV has survived for much longer than Stellantis has existed and existed under four CEOs including Fiat Chrysler leadership. It makes you wonder just how much longer the Durango will soldier on. 0:00 / 0:00 We know it will exist at least in its current form for the 2026 model year, when it will once again be the last Dodge product available with a V-8. The base level GT will continue using the 3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar engine, the Durango R/T will stick with the 360-hp, 390-lb-ft 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, and the SRT Hellcat once again rocks a 710-hp, 645-lb-ft supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V-8. In familiar Dodge fashion, freshness is injected via packages and aesthetic add-ons. The Blacktop Redline is new on the Durango R/T's option list and adds blacked-out 20-inch wheels, black badging, and black SRT exhaust tips, as well as SRT front and rear spoilers. If you also order the $5,990 Tow N Go package, wider 20-inch wheels (including a forged option) and a set of black Brembo calipers are included. Inside, the Blacktop Redline R/T gets SRT front seats and standard second-row captain's chairs wrapped in leather and microsuede with red accent stitching. Leather is also applied to the door trim and center console, and interior trim pieces are laser-etched with a geometric 'crypto sweep' graphic. The Blacktop Redline package adds $3,495 to the R/T Plus and R/T Premium trims. The standard R/T can be ordered with a less comprehensive Blacktop package that adds black wheels, black badging, and black roof rails in a seven-seat configuration for $1,695. If you're more into show than go, the 295-hp V-6 Durango GT's Blacktop Redline package features red stripes on the front fender and liftgate, a performance hood, SRT spoilers, and leather and suede SRT performance front seats. Order books open next month, while pricing and further details on the 2026 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat will be announced later this year.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Stellantis CEO Filosa To-Do List Topped By Profitability Restoration
New Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa's check list includes restoring profitability, negotiating his way around the U.S. tariff upheaval, facing down the electric vehicle revolution, and then figuring out what to do with all those brands. Stellantis's operating profit margin in 2024 was 5.5%, down sharply from 2023's 12.8%. Stellantis had said before the Trump tariffs problems that it expects little improvement in 2025. Last year, industrial cash flow was a negative €6 billion ($6.8 billion) compared with 2023's positive €12.9 billion ($14.6 billion). The merger between Fiat Chrysler and France's Groupe PSA in 2021 was named Stellantis and included 14 brands. Since then a joint venture with LeapMotor of China has been added. Former CEO Carlos Tavares orchestrated the merger, but shocked shareholders by quitting in December, about a year before the end of his contract. Tavares had been lauded as a financial genius as he welded together many brands which quickly became hugely profitable, despite being mainly mass-market ventures. Overlapping technologies were dropped and economies of scale exploited. One of the brands, Opel and its British Vauxhall affiliate, had been a chronic loss maker when owned by General Motors. Many of the other European brands including Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat and Lancia competed against other in the mass market. DS, Alfa Romeo and Abarth sit in the wannabe premium sector. Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler were in the U.S. Storied Italian sportscar maker Maserati sits atop of the list. Tavares had said that because of the apparent overlapping of many of the brands, they would be given 10 years to justify their existence. That expires in 2031, but pressure is likely to amount quickly for them to prove their worth. Profitability of the various brands was propelled to unprecedented highs by post-covid pandemic supply-constraints. But Tavares's credibility was undermined by the collapse of profitability in North America. U.S. brands were particularly hard hit when these unusual conditions expired. Automotive News columnist Jamie Butters said Tavares become 'profoundly' unpopular in his last year. 'Pressure on suppliers to bear the costs of electrification led to court battles and missed shipments. Missteps in the U.S. market prompted dealers to call for his resignation. The inability to justify investing in the Belvidere, Ill., plant outraged the UAW, which had counted that plant's revival as a major win from Shawn Fain's historic 2023 contract negotiations. Salaried employees weren't happy either, fielding multiple rounds of buyout offers. So pretty much every stakeholder group was against him,' Butters said. Jeep Cherokee SUV getty 'After that Filosa (a 25-year company veteran) looks pretty good,' Butters said. There had been speculation that Stellantis would recruit from another company or even another industry. After all the late, great Sergio Marchionne was recruited from outside the automotive industry. Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari, spun off from Stellantis component Fiat-Chrysler in 2016, reached outside to appoint Benedetto Vigna. 'The decision by John Elkann (provisional Stellantis CEO after Tavares left) and the Ferrari board in 2021 to appoint Benedetto Vigna, who had been running STMicro's sensors division, as Ferrari CEO has turned out to be inspired, and Vigna has since driven (Ferrari) to ever greater heights,' Bernstein Research said in a report. 'Antonio Filosa also brings a deep understanding of the U.S. market, something which the group's dealer body persistently accused Carlos Tavares of ignoring its legitimate concerns,' Bernstein Research said. In Europe the obvious weakling brands are Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and DS. Analysts say at least 10 brands are in dire need of fresh products. Two of them count on only one model. The positioning is not clear either: Opel is very similar to Peugeot. Fiat is very similar to Citroen. Lancia wants to enter the premium segment, where DS and Alfa Romeo are already struggling. Maserati hasn't been able to find its identity and is stuck somewhere between the premium and luxury segments. Filosa will have to fix the profit problem and decide what to do with all those brands. Selling some off might well meet willing buyers from China eager to raise their profile in Europe and avoid recently erected high EU tariffs for EVs. Stellantis, after reporting first quarter sales fell 14% to €35.8 billion ($40.6 billion) compared with the same period last year, said it would not make any predictions about its profits for the year. Stellantis reports profits every six months, not quarterly. Filosa faces big decisions over the next six to 12 months requiring significant strategic adjustments. Cost-cutting measures, better alignment of production with demand, and improved software and electrification strategies will be crucial, analysts say. HSBC Global Research, in a report on Filosa's appointment. offered these bullet points – On paper his CV looks a good fit for the role, given he is: - An auto guy, having worked exclusively in the industry for over 25 years - A Italian native from Naples, so understands Europe - Has spent a good deal of time in South America (Stellantis 3rd largest profit source) - Lives in Detroit, which is arguably where the heavy lifting needs to be done.
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Fast Company
Stellantis taps Italian car executive as its new CEO
Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest carmaker, named Italian auto executive Antonio Filosa as its new chief executive officer Wednesday, replacing Carlos Tavares, who resigned under pressure last year. Filosa, who is currently Stellantis' chief operating officer for the Americas and chief quality officer, takes the post effective June 23, when he is expected to announce his leadership team. The move returns the running of Stellantis, created from the 2021 merger of France's PSA Peugeot with Italian-US carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, to Italian hands after three years under Tavares, who previously served as Peugeot's top executive. John Elkann, heir to the Fiat-founding Agnelli family, remains chairman. Elkann praised Filosa's 'deep understanding of our company, including its people, who he views as our core strength, and of our industry.' Robert Peugeot said the board's choice was unanimous, calling Filosa a 'natural choice' due to his leadership track record and knowledge of the business and 'the complex dynamics facing our industry.' Filosa joined Fiat in 1999, spending much of his career in Latin America where held positions from plant manager to head of purchasing and later chief operating officer. He was credited with making the Fiat brand the regional market leader and boosting the market share of the Peugeot, Citroen, Ram and Jeep brands. He was promoted to chief operating officer of the Americas in 2024 in an executive shakeup as sales slumped in North America, its main source of profits. Stellantis has been lagging globally in the transition to electric powertrains and facing stiff Chinese competition. Analysts also have said Stellantis, with 14 brands, is yoked by too many under-performers, including Maserati and Chrysler.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Stellantis names Italian car executive Antonio Filosa its new CEO
The Stellantis sign is seen outside the Chrysler Technology Center, Jan. 19, 2021, in Auburn Hills, Mich. Stellantis on April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) MILAN — Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest carmaker, named Italian auto executive Antonio Filosa as its new chief executive officer Wednesday, replacing Carlos Tavares, who resigned under pressure last year. Filosa, who is currently Stellantis' chief operating officer for the Americas and chief quality officer, takes the post effective June 23, when he is expected to announce his leadership team. The move returns the running of Stellantis, created from the 2021 merger of France's PSA Peugeot with Italian-US carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, to Italian hands after three years under Tavares, who previously served as Peugeot's top executive. John Elkann, heir to the Fiat-founding Agnelli family, remains chairman. Elkann praised Filosa's 'deep understanding of our company, including its people, who he views as our core strength, and of our industry.' Robert Peugeot said the board's choice was unanimous, calling Filosa a 'natural choice' due to his leadership track record and knowledge of the business and 'the complex dynamics facing our industry.' Filosa joined Fiat in 1999, spending much of his career in Latin America where held positions from plant manager to head of purchasing and later chief operating officer. He was credited with making the Fiat brand the regional market leader and boosting the market share of the Peugeot, Citroen, Ram and Jeep brands. He was promoted to chief operating officer of the Americas in 2024 in an executive shakeup as sales slumped in North America, its main source of profits. Stellantis has been lagging globally in the transition to electric powertrains and facing stiff Chinese competition. Analysts also have said Stellantis, with 14 brands, is yoked by too many under-performers, including Maserati and Chrysler. Colleen Barry, The Associated Press
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Stellantis names Italian car executive Antonio Filosa its new CEO
MILAN (AP) — Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest carmaker, named Italian auto executive Antonio Filosa as its new chief executive officer Wednesday, replacing Carlos Tavares, who resigned under pressure last year. Filosa, who is currently Stellantis' chief operating officer for the Americas and chief quality officer, takes the post effective June 23, when he is expected to announce his leadership team. The move returns the running of Stellantis, created from the 2021 merger of France's PSA Peugeot with Italian-US carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, to Italian hands after three years under Tavares, who previously served as Peugeot's top executive. John Elkann, heir to the Fiat-founding Agnelli family, remains chairman. Elkann praised Filosa's 'deep understanding of our company, including its people, who he views as our core strength, and of our industry.' Robert Peugeot said the board's choice was unanimous, calling Filosa a 'natural choice' due to his leadership track record and knowledge of the business and 'the complex dynamics facing our industry.' Filosa joined Fiat in 1999, spending much of his career in Latin America where held positions from plant manager to head of purchasing and later chief operating officer. He was credited with making the Fiat brand the regional market leader and boosting the market share of the Peugeot, Citroen, Ram and Jeep brands. He was promoted to chief operating officer of the Americas in 2024 in an executive shakeup as sales slumped in North America, its main source of profits. Stellantis has been lagging globally in the transition to electric powertrains and facing stiff Chinese competition. Analysts also have said Stellantis, with 14 brands, is yoked by too many under-performers, including Maserati and Chrysler.
