Carlos Tavares, who abruptly resigned as chief executive of carmaker Stellantis on December 1, said his “amicable” departure was due to disagreements with the board over strategy.

In his first interview since his resignation, with Portuguese newspaper Expresso, he did not go into detail about his differences with the carmaker’s board, but said the decision to leave had been made jointly between him and its chairman Stellantis John Elkan.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters his sudden departure was prompted by goals set by Carlos Tavares, which were seen as unrealistic or even disastrous by some board members.

Carlos Tavares told the newspaper that his main concern was the “protection of the company and that he did not want a difference of opinion to create a risk to its survival and development and that there must be an alignment of opinions to achieve the goals.”

“A company that has 250,000 employees, revenues of 190 billion. euro, 15 brands that sell cars and services around the world, it is not a company that can be managed with a lack of alignment – which has a direct impact on strategic management,” he added.

Asked if he feels hurt by the result, he replied: “No, not at all.” He said he would act the same way if he could turn back time.

Although previously regarded by Stellantis management as one of the most respected executives in the auto industry, Carlos Tavares’ approach has come under scrutiny after falling North American sales led the automaker in September to issue a profit warning for its results in 2024.

Traders, industry experts and customers have protested Carlos Tavares’ policies in the past and said Stellantis had lost market power in both the United States and Europe under Tavares’ leadership.

In the interview – the first given since his resignation – Carlos Tavares described the current moment in the car industry as the beginning of a “Darwinian” period.

“When you face a storm, you have to steer the boat according to the waves. You can’t have a debate about the best way to deal with them.”

Carlos Tavares (born August 14) is a Portuguese business executive, mainly in the automotive sector. He is the former CEO of Stellantis (when it was the world’s fourth largest carmaker by sales), a conglomerate created by the merger of Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Earlier, he was chief executive officer (COO) at Renault.

Stellantis is a multinational European-American car manufacturing group, established in January 2021, based on a 50%-50% cross-border merger between the Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French group PSA. It is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. As of May 2021, Stellantis is the world’s sixth largest automaker (behind Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Renault – Nissan – Mitsubishi Alliance, General Motors and Hyundai Motor Group). The company is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana, the Paris Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

The main activity of Stellantis is the design, development, manufacture and sale of cars of the companies (in alphabetical order) Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Mopar, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall. The Stellantis group has 300,000 employees, with a presence in more than 130 countries and with production facilities in 30 countries.