Carlos Tavares

Carlos Tavares
Born	Carlos Antunes Tavares Dias 14 8, 1958
Birthplace	Lisbon, Portugal
Nationality	Portuguese, French
Occupation	Automotive executive
Title	CEO, Stellantis (2021–2024) Chairman, PSA Group (2014–2021) COO, Renault (2011–2013)
Employer	Stellantis (2021–2024) PSA Group (2014–2021) Renault (2011–2013) Nissan (2009–2011)
Known for	Formation and leadership of Stellantis; turnaround of PSA Group
Education	École Centrale Paris
Children	3

Carlos Antunes Tavares Dias (born 14 August 1958), known professionally as Carlos Tavares, is a Portuguese-born automotive executive who served as the founding chief executive officer (CEO) of Stellantis, the multinational automotive conglomerate formed in January 2021 through the merger of the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Tavares held the position of CEO from the company's inception until his departure in December 2024, during which time Stellantis ranked as the world's fourth-largest automaker by sales. Before leading Stellantis, Tavares was credited with engineering one of the most notable corporate turnarounds in European automotive history at PSA Group, the parent company of Peugeot and Citroën, which was on the brink of financial collapse when he assumed leadership in 2014. His earlier career included senior executive positions at Renault and Nissan, where he rose through the ranks of the Renault-Nissan Alliance over more than two decades. A lifelong automobile enthusiast and amateur racing driver, Tavares built a reputation in the industry as a disciplined, cost-focused operator with a forensic approach to restructuring and profitability.

Early Life

Carlos Antunes Tavares Dias was born on 14 August 1958 in Lisbon, Portugal. He grew up in a bilingual environment with strong ties to France. Tavares attended the Lycée français Charles-Lepierre, a French-language secondary school in Lisbon, where he received his formative education. His upbringing in a French-language educational setting would prove instrumental to his later career, which unfolded almost entirely within the French automotive industry.

Tavares developed a deep interest in automobiles from a young age, an enthusiasm that would remain a defining personal characteristic throughout his professional life. He has been described in the French press as an "autophile" whose connection to cars extends well beyond corporate strategy into a genuine personal fascination with driving and automotive engineering. This lifelong interest in motorsport later manifested in his participation in amateur racing events, including endurance racing.

Education

After completing his secondary education at the Lycée français Charles-Lepierre in Lisbon, Tavares moved to France to pursue higher education. He enrolled at the École Centrale Paris (now CentraleSupélec), one of France's most prestigious grandes écoles of engineering. The institution has a long history of producing leaders in French industry and technology. Tavares graduated from École Centrale Paris with an engineering degree, providing him with a strong technical foundation that would underpin his career in the automotive sector.

Career

Renault and the Renault-Nissan Alliance (1981–2013)

Tavares began his automotive career at Renault in 1981, shortly after graduating from École Centrale Paris. Over the next three decades, he rose through the ranks of the French automaker, holding a series of increasingly senior positions across multiple functions and geographies. His tenure at Renault coincided with the company's landmark alliance with Nissan, which was formed in 1999 under the leadership of Carlos Ghosn.

Within the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Tavares gained extensive international experience. He served in leadership roles at Nissan, including as Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor Company, where he oversaw operations in the Americas. His performance at Nissan's North American operations drew attention within the alliance's leadership.

In May 2011, Renault appointed Tavares as its chief operating officer (COO), the second-highest executive position in the company after CEO Carlos Ghosn. In this role, Tavares was responsible for day-to-day operations of Renault and was seen by many industry observers as the de facto second-in-command of the broader Renault-Nissan Alliance. During this period, Tavares oversaw efforts to improve Renault's operational performance and competitive positioning in European markets.

However, Tavares's tenure as COO came to an abrupt end in 2013. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Tavares made public statements expressing his ambitions to lead a major automaker as CEO, which were interpreted as a challenge to Ghosn's authority within the alliance. The remarks led to a swift and public separation from Renault. Tavares left the company, ending a career at Renault that had spanned more than three decades.

PSA Group (2014–2021)

Appointment and turnaround

Tavares's departure from Renault did not leave him on the sidelines for long. In early 2014, the PSA Group, parent company of Peugeot, Citroën, and DS Automobiles, was in a state of acute financial crisis. The company had posted billions of euros in losses, was burning through cash at an alarming rate, and had required a capital injection from the French state and the Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor. Against this backdrop, PSA's board turned to Tavares to lead a restructuring effort as the company's new chairman of the managing board.

Tavares took charge of PSA in March 2014 and immediately launched a comprehensive restructuring plan. His approach was characterized by rigorous cost discipline, operational efficiency measures, and a strategic refocusing of the company's brand portfolio. He implemented what the company called its "Back in the Race" plan, aimed at returning PSA to profitability through significant cuts to manufacturing costs, reductions in the number of vehicle platforms, and improved pricing strategies.

One of Tavares's early strategic decisions was to elevate DS Automobiles to a standalone premium brand, separate from Citroën, in an effort to compete more directly with German luxury automakers. He announced this plan shortly after taking charge, signaling his intent to reshape PSA's brand architecture.

The turnaround at PSA under Tavares's leadership was swift and pronounced. The company returned to profitability within two years and went on to post record operating margins that surpassed those of many of its larger European competitors. Industry analysts credited Tavares's forensic attention to costs and his willingness to make difficult decisions on plant utilization and workforce management as key factors in the recovery.

Acquisition of Opel/Vauxhall

In 2017, buoyed by the success of the PSA turnaround, Tavares led the acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors (GM). GM had struggled to make its European operations profitable for nearly two decades, and the sale to PSA was seen as a landmark transaction that reshaped the European automotive landscape. Tavares applied his now-familiar restructuring methodology to Opel and Vauxhall, imposing stringent cost controls and integrating the brands onto PSA's vehicle platforms. Within approximately two years of the acquisition, Opel returned to profitability for the first time in decades, further cementing Tavares's reputation as a turnaround specialist.

Frontier ambitions

Throughout his time at PSA, Tavares articulated a broader strategic vision that extended beyond the company's traditional European markets. In 2016, Automotive News profiled Tavares's ambitions to expand PSA's footprint, describing the executive's "next frontier" as he sought to return the company to global relevance after years of geographic retreat. These ambitions ultimately culminated in the merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Stellantis (2021–2024)

Formation and early leadership

The merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was finalized on 16 January 2021, creating Stellantis, at the time the world's fourth-largest automaker by vehicle sales. The combined entity brought together 14 automotive brands, including Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and others, with operations spanning Europe, North America, South America, and other global markets.

Tavares was appointed as the founding CEO of Stellantis, a role he had been designated for during the merger negotiations. Upon taking the helm, he pledged that none of the company's 14 brands would be abandoned, stating that each would be given an opportunity to demonstrate its viability within the larger group.

Tavares brought to Stellantis the same cost-focused operating philosophy that had defined his tenure at PSA. He set about extracting synergies from the merger, targeting billions of euros in annual savings through platform consolidation, shared purchasing, and operational integration. He also laid out plans for Stellantis's electrification strategy, committing the company to significant investment in electric vehicles across its brand portfolio.

Compensation controversy

In April 2022, Tavares's compensation package drew significant public and political scrutiny in France. His reported remuneration for 2021 prompted reactions from senior French political figures, including President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, both of whom described the pay package as excessive. The controversy highlighted the sensitive nature of executive compensation in France, particularly for companies with significant state and worker stakeholder interests.

Departure from Stellantis

Tavares departed from his role as CEO of Stellantis in December 2024. His exit came amid mounting challenges for the company, including declining sales volumes in key markets, rising competitive pressures from Chinese automakers and Tesla, and internal tensions among the company's diverse stakeholders across France, Italy, and the United States. Following Tavares's departure, Stellantis chairman John Elkann assumed interim executive oversight through an executive committee, pending the appointment of a permanent successor. Antonio Filosa was subsequently named as CEO.

Post-Stellantis commentary

Following his departure from Stellantis, Tavares remained a prominent voice in automotive industry discussions. In October 2025, he made a series of public statements, including in conjunction with the publication of a new book, in which he suggested that Stellantis could face a breakup if the competing interests of its French, Italian, and American stakeholders could not be reconciled. He argued that the centrifugal forces within the conglomerate — including national government pressures, labor union demands, and differing market conditions across regions — could lead to the company's constituent parts splitting apart.

In the same period, Tavares offered predictions about the broader automotive industry, including a statement that Elon Musk might eventually leave Tesla and the automotive industry entirely, and that Tesla as a company could face an uncertain long-term future.

Other corporate roles

Beyond his primary automotive roles, Tavares served on the board of directors of Airbus, the European aerospace conglomerate. His appointment to the Airbus board was proposed in 2016. He also served on the board of Total (now TotalEnergies), from which he later departed.

Personal Life

Carlos Tavares has three children. He holds both Portuguese and French nationality, having spent the majority of his adult life and career in France after his education at École Centrale Paris.

Tavares is known within the automotive industry for his personal enthusiasm for driving and motorsport. He has participated in amateur motor racing events, including endurance racing, reflecting a hands-on connection to automobiles that extends beyond his corporate responsibilities. He has been described in the French business press as unusually passionate about the act of driving itself, a trait that colleagues and journalists have noted sets him apart from many of his peers in automotive management.

Recognition

Tavares's turnaround of PSA Group and subsequent integration of Opel/Vauxhall earned him significant recognition within the global automotive industry. His work at PSA was cited by Automotive News as one of the most notable corporate recoveries in European automotive history, transforming a company that had been on the verge of collapse into one of the most profitable automakers in Europe by operating margin.

His leadership of the PSA-FCA merger, which created Stellantis, was one of the largest transactions in automotive industry history and cemented his profile as one of the most prominent automotive executives of his era. The creation of a transatlantic automaker spanning 14 brands and multiple continents was seen as a defining deal of the early 2020s automotive landscape.

At the same time, Tavares's management style attracted both praise and criticism. His compensation at Stellantis became a focal point for public debate about executive pay in France, with both President Macron and Marine Le Pen publicly criticizing the scale of his remuneration in 2022. His approach to cost management, while delivering strong financial results, also generated friction with labor unions and government officials in both France and Italy, where concerns about plant closures and job losses were persistent themes during his tenure.

Legacy

Tavares's career arc — from a young Portuguese engineer at Renault to the CEO of one of the world's largest automakers — spanned more than four decades of transformation in the global automotive industry. His most enduring professional accomplishment is the financial rescue and restructuring of PSA Group, which returned the company from near-bankruptcy to record profitability and enabled its subsequent expansion through the acquisition of Opel/Vauxhall and the merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

The creation of Stellantis under Tavares's leadership represented one of the most ambitious attempts at automotive consolidation, bringing together historically distinct corporate cultures from France, Italy, and the United States under a single organizational umbrella. Whether this structure will prove durable remains an open question; Tavares himself, following his departure, publicly raised the possibility that Stellantis could eventually split apart along geographic and cultural lines.

Tavares's management philosophy — centered on cost discipline, platform rationalization, and brand portfolio management — influenced broader industry thinking about how legacy automakers could compete in an era of electrification and increasing competition from technology-oriented entrants such as Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. His career also illustrated the complexities of managing multinational automotive companies with diverse government, labor, and shareholder stakeholders across multiple countries.

His post-departure commentary, including predictions about the potential breakup of Stellantis and the future of Tesla, ensured that Tavares remained a consequential figure in automotive industry discourse well after leaving his executive role.