MILAN (Reuters) -Automaker Stellantis has appointed Italian Antonio Filosa as its new chief executive, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday.

The new CEO succeeds Carlos Tavares, who quit the group in December after a sharp drop in profits and sales, especially in the United States, raised questions about his management.

Since then, the Franco-Italian-US automaker has been provisionally led by its Chairman John Elkann, a scion of the Agnelli family that founded Fiat, now part of Stellantis ( STLA ).

The Agnellis are Stellantis' ( STLA ) single largest investor through their family holding company Exor. The group's other brands include Peugeot and Jeep.

Antonio Filosa is expected to focus on the challenging task to revive fortunes, after the automaker suffered a 70% drop in net profit and a 6-billion-euro ($6.75 billion) cash burn in 2024.

Having exceeded 27 euros early last year, Stellantis ( STLA ) shares shed over two thirds of their value in the following 12 months.

The new boss will also need to rein in Stellantis ( STLA ) sprawling 14-brand portfolio -- with analysts and experts thinking the automaker should terminate or sell some of them -- and complete a process to restore the group's fraught relations with dealers, unions and governments left by Tavares.

Stellantis ( STLA ) was created in early 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot's owner PSA, with Carlos Tavares, the former PSA head, as its first CEO.

Antonio Filosa, aged 51, has been leading Stellantis ( STLA ) in its key North American market since last October with a task of reviving sales at the group's powerhouse, after its market share shrank in recent years.