Stellantis chair says US tariffs, EU rules put auto industry at risk

MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis Chairman John Elkann said on Tuesday U.S. tariffs and strict European Union emissions standards were threatening the industry, as the automaker continued its search for a new chief executive.

"With the current path of painful tariffs and overly rigid regulations, the American and European car industries are being put at risk," amid increased competition from China, Elkann said at the group's annual shareholders' meeting. 

"That would be a tragedy as car manufacturing is a source of jobs, innovation and strong communities," he said.

Elkann, who has been steering the world's fourth-largest automaker in terms of sales since CEO Carlos Tavares left late last year, did not provide fresh details about the CEO hunt, but reiterated a new chief would be picked in the first half.

Stellantis has trimmed its shortlist of CEO candidates to five, sources told Reuters earlier on Tuesday, with two internal names - the head of North American business Antonio Filosa and the head of procurement Maxime Picat - and three external ones.

Elkann described current auto industry conditions as "extreme" and called for the United States and Europe to take urgent action to ensure an "orderly transition," with their combined markets set to be overtaken for the first time by China.

In the United States, automakers face "layer upon layer of additional compounding tariffs, including those on aluminum, steel and parts" beyond the 25% rate for automotive imports, Elkann said. 

However, he said he was encouraged by U.S. President Donald Trump's statement on Monday that he was considering some form of tariff reprieve for auto and auto part imports from Mexico, Canada and other countries. 

As for the EU, Elkann said the bloc's CO2 regulation was imposing an "unrealistic path to electrification, disconnected from market realities." 

"Governments in Europe – sometimes abruptly – withdrew purchase incentives, and the charging infrastructure remains inadequate," slowing a transition to electric vehicles, he said.

Shareholders on Tuesday backed a final 35 million euro ($40 million) compensation package for Tavares, who left in December following a dramatic plunge in sales and profit and broken relationships with suppliers, dealers and investors.

Stellantis was formed in early 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA. Its brands also include Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo and Citroen.

($1 = 0.8837 euros)

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Gilles Guillaume in Paris, editing by Alvise Armellini, Tomasz Janowski and Bernadette Baum)