Stellantis CEO: ‘I'm not here to destroy'

Jeep sells almost as many vehicles every day in the U.S. as the Fiat brand is on track to sell in all of 2021.

But Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares insists he isn't ready to throw in the towel on Fiat in North America, nor will he impulsively kill any of the other 13 brands in the company's bulging portfolio.

"Most of these brands are more than one century old," he told reporters during a visit to Detroit last week. "I'm not here to destroy. I'm here to build."

Of those sold stateside, Fiat is most troubled, having fallen from more than 46,000 sales in 2014 to just 2,107 through nine months of this year.

Tavares said the brand needs products that are more appealing to U.S. consumers. One possibility he mentioned would be the electric 500e, which has been redesigned since being pulled from U.S. dealerships for poor, unprofitable sales.

"We have not put our passion — we have not put our best models and technologies in the U.S. market," he said. "Is there any reason why a trendy, fashionable Fiat 500e would not sell in California?"

After merging Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group into Stellantis in January, Tavares installed a dedicated executive over each one. Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois oversees Fiat.

"It is very difficult to love 14 kids at the same time in the same way," Tavares said. "I need to have a loving CEO for each brand."