The Franco-Italian-American manufacturer has increased 13 billion euros in profits in 2021, at the cost of a cost hunt that will continue to accelerate in 2022.
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“Thirty-five years in the automobile and I had never seen that.” A few hours after the publication of the results of Stellantis, Wednesday, February 23, this experienced syndicalist still does not come back. The manufacturer, born the beginning 2021 of the merger between PSA and Fiat Chrysler, starts its existence in style: a turnover to 152 billion euros – up 14% compared to 2020 – a profit of 13 billion, An operating margin at 11.8% of turnover and 6 billion cash flow, while specialists predicted a much lower performance for each of these key figures.
This little managerial and financial miracle bears the signature of the general manager of the new entity, Carlos Tavares. The man, from the Renault group ten years ago, first saved Peugeot Citroën bankruptcy, then took over Opel in 2017 to do it in one year a profitable business, while she lost money for two decades. The cost hunting specialist has struck strong again. Synergies identified 3.2 billion net cash from the first year, with a wide advance on the group’s walking plan with 14 brands and 6 million cars sold in 2021.
What is this Tavares method that is wonderful? It combines maximum competitiveness research, including a decline in the neutral, this level of vehicle production below that money is losing money, and a high level of vehicle selling price. “Tavares has put in music the managerial equation that has been going on since the 1980s and resting on a double doctrine. Primo, the small cars of segment B are not made in high-cost countries such as France. Second, the Factories must be concurred between them, “says Bernard Jullien, a car economist at the University of Bordeaux.
Internal Competition
The head of Stellantis applies especially what he has learned from the Renault-Nissan of the 1990s and 2000. It is not surprising that Mr. Tavares’ industrial directors come from Renault: first. Yann Vincent and, since 2020, Arnaud Deboeuf. The consequence is a significant decline in numbers in high-cost countries, without factory closure and with the agreement of some of the unions. In France, according to a CFDT count, there were 59,000 industrial employees in 2013 to just over 40,000 today. Since February 1, a new plan provides 2,600 voluntary departures. Over the Rhine, Opel saw a third year away from his German numbers.
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