PARIS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Increasing revenues thanks to
new models will be a key pillar of Stellantis' ( STLA ) future strategy
and a way to restore cash generation, new CEO Antonio Filosa
said on Thursday as he started to sketch out the automaker's new
business plan.
Stellantis ( STLA ) 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.
The CEO, who started in the role in June, said the company
listened to North American dealers "a lot" and that they were
"screaming" for those models to be back in the range.
"The U.S. is priority number one and it is where we are
putting most of our efforts," he said in an interview during
Kepler Cheuvreux Autumn Conference.
Filosa is working on the group's new long-term business
plan, which 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.
"How do we want to do that? (we have) many, many levers, but
lever number one is increasing the revenue line," he added.
Stellantis ( STLA ) 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 improved a lot of the quality of the dealer inventory.
So for instance, 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, to be built in the United States,
adding that the automaker, which has a large manufacturing
footprint in the region, is holding a "very productive exchange
of ideas" with President Donald Trump's administration.
The tariff environment is "getting clearer and clearer and
we are ready to act", he said.
"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."
($1 = 0.8523 euros)