After announcing plans to close its Luton factory and a profits warning, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has resigned.

The question that carmakers around the world will be asking is how the fall of this CEO and sales of the group are related to stalled EV sales and the ever-present threat of Chinese EVs.

The resignation underlines quite how turbulent the global market for cars has become, with many established players finding the transition difficult. VW is planning to close plants, Jaguar is attempting to reposition itself, Ford and Nissan have voiced concerns in the UK over the ZEV Mandate and Trump’s ascension to President brings with it the possibility of tariffs and trade wars.

And uncertainly of regulations and policy both domestically and internationally make it more difficult to understand how the future will look. Within this week the Government has indicated a considerable U-turn over allowing hybrids to be counted in the ZEV Mandate, an act that might make Jaguar question exactly why they needed to reposition in the first place (given that an all-electric Jaguar would help meet the mandate and allow JLR’s Land Rover to continue on ICEs a bit longer).

Whatever prompted Tavares to go will be debates, was it too slow to the electric revolution or too fast? Many other CEO will be pondering that right now.

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