Auto tariffs have made 2025 an unusual year for U.S. auto giants.
Take Ford (F) , for instance. The Blue Oval leaned heavily into promotions to drive sales as consumers, concerned about the effect the 25% tariffs would have on prices, flocked to dealerships to purchase their vehicles before prices increased.
Ford says its total sales rose in the second quarter at a rate about 7 times that of the overall industry. The company says it was the top-selling brand in the U.S. during the first half of the year.
U.S. auto imports by brand:
- General Motors: 750,000
- Stellantis: 564,000
- Ford: 420,000
Ford was especially equipped to take advantage of the tariff environment, since it imports fewer cars per year than its competitors by a large margin.
Meanwhile, newly minted Stellantis CEO Andrew Filosa is taking over the multinational conglomerate during this turbulent macroeconomic environment.
On Oct. 8, he made additional moves to right the ship.
Image source: Stellantis
New Stellantis makes moves to win back U.S. customers
Filosa, 52, is taking over Stellantis — which owns Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler — in the midst of the billion-dollar headwind also known as tariffs.
“With the new automotive sector tariffs now in effect, it will take our collective resilience and discipline to push through this challenging time,” new Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said recently.
Related: Stellantis makes a decision some Ram pickup fans will hate
Earlier this year, Stellantis said it expects to lose $1.7 billion to tariff costs in 2025.
At the same time, second-quarter shipments fell 6% to 1.4 million vehicles globally. In comparison, North American shipments are expected to decline by 109,000 units (25%) due to reduced manufacturing and shipments of imported cars.
Filosa, who has kept his title as director of North America, is investing heavily domestically to win back U.S. customers.
Under former CEO Carlos Tavares’ leadership, Stellantis laid off American factory workers, shuffled its C-suite, and forced its U.S. brands to push products that American customers didn’t like.
Filosa, on the other hand, shared that he is moving the CEO’s office to Detroit, Michigan. In May, the company revealed that it will build a $388 million “megahub” in Van Buren Township, just outside of Detroit.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa shuffles his European cabinet
On Oct. 8, Filosa turned his attention to the European market,
He named several new lieutenants to lead the company’s Europe-facing brands.
Emanuele Cappellano, formerly the company’s head of South American operations, was named head of “Enlarged Europe and European Brands,” replacing Jean-Philippe Imparato.
Related: Jeep, Dodge parent Stellantis doubles down on the US
Imparato will move over to lead Maserati, the brand’s struggling Italian-based marque. But the shuffle does not end there.
Stellantis’ new executive movements
- Emanuele Cappellano: Appointed Head of Enlarged Europe and European Brands, in addition to his current role leading Stellantis Pro One
- Jean-Phillipe Imparato: Head of Maserati
- Herlander Zola: New Head of the South America region, currently Head of Commercial Operations, Brazil and South America Light Vehicles
- Grégoire Olivier: New Head of the China and Asia-Pacific region, former Head of China Strategy
- Ralph Gilles: Joins Stellantis as Global Head of Design
“With these new appointments, we are promoting exceptional talent from inside and out to leadership roles as we prepare our business for future success,” Filosa said.
“We are also sharpening our regional focus by allocating specific responsibility for our Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa organizations at the Stellantis leadership level,” he added.
Related: Jeep parent Stellantis explores shocking move for struggling brand
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