Stellantis close to final scenario on tariffs with US administration, CEO says

PARIS (Reuters) - Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said on Thursday a final scenario with U.S. tariffs was getting clearer and the French-Italian-American automaker would soon take actions based on that, as he started to sketch out the group's new business plan.

The company, which has a large manufacturing footprint in the U.S., as well as in Mexico and Canada, is holding a "very productive exchange of ideas" with President Donald Trump's administration, Filosa said in an interview during Kepler Cheuvreux Autumn Conference. 

The CEO said the tariff environment was not yet 100% defined, but it is "getting clearer and clearer and we are ready to act".

"Our capacity in the United States can accommodate important industrial moves. So we are still working with the administration to create the final scenario and very soon we'll be able to communicate around that," Filosa said.

Last year, more than 40% of the 1.2 million vehicles Stellantis sold in the United States, its key market, were imports, mostly from Mexico and Canada where Trump has imposed tariffs of 25%.

In July, Stellantis warned of a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) hit from U.S. tariffs this year, but pledged new vehicle launches to reconnect with customers as its new CEO tries to get the automaker back on track after a dismal 2024.

Milan-listed shares in Stellantis extended gains after Filosa's remarks and closed up 9.2%.

The CEO, who started in the role in June, added increasing revenues thanks to new models would be a key pillar of Stellantis' future strategy and a way to restore cash generation.

Stellantis is reintroducing models, including Jeep Cherokee and 8-cylinder RAM trucks, after dropping them proved to be one of the causes of the group's declining sales since 2024, Filosa said, adding North American dealers were "screaming" for those models to be back in the range.

"The U.S. is priority number one," he said.

Stellantis' new business plan is scheduled to be presented in the first half of next year.

"The most urgent objective that we have is to turn the corner on cash generation," he said. "Lever number one is increasing the revenue line".

Stellantis has burnt a total of over 9 billion euros ($10.6 billion) of cash between 2024 and the first half of this year following a decline in sales and profits, in particular in its key North American market, which led to an overhang of unsold vehicles and the ousting of former CEO Carlos Tavares.

Filosa said inventories were now back to "very healthy" levels.

"We don't carry any more aged inventory. So model year 2024, mainly all (of) model year 2025 are gone," he said.

Filosa also promised a new RAM mid-sized truck for the North American market for 2027.

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(Reporting by Nick Carey and Gilles Guillaume; writing by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Keith Weir and Marguerita Choy)