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Stellantis ready to kill brands and fix U.S. problems, CEO Tavares says

  MILAN — Stellantis is taking steps to fix weak margins and high inventory at its U.S. operations and will not hesitate to axe underperforming brands in its sprawling portfolio, its chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday. The warning for lossmaking brands is a turnaround for Tavares, who has maintained since Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA that all of its 14 brands including Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep have a future. "If they don't make money, we'll shut them down," Carlos Tavares told reporters after the world's No. 4 automaker delivered worse-than-expected first-half results, sending its shares down as much as 10%. "We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money." The automaker now also considers China's Leapmotor as its 15th brand, after it agreed to a broad cooperation with the group. Stellantis does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati which reported an 82 million euro adjusted operating loss in the first half. Some analysts say Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped given their marginal contribution to the group's overall sales. Stellantis' Milan-listed shares were down as much as 12.5% on Thursday, hitting their lowest since August 2023. That brings the loss for the year so far to 22%, making them the worst performer among the major European automakers. Few automotive brands have been killed off since General Motors ditched the unprofitable Saturn and Pontiac during a U.S. government-led bankruptcy in the global financial crisis in 2008. Tavares is under pressure to revive flagging margins and sales and cut inventory in the United States as Stellantis bets on the launch of 20 new models this year which it hopes will boost profitability. Recent poor results from global carmakers have heightened worries about a weakening outlook for sales across major markets such as the U.S., whilst they also juggle an expensive transition to electric vehicles and growing competition from cheaper Chinese rivals. Japan's Nissan Motor saw first-quarter profit almost completely wiped out on Thursday and slashed its annual outlook, as deep discounting in the United States shredded its margins. Tavares said he would be working through the summer with his U.S. team on how to improve performance and cut inventory.

Fiat/PSA's dominance in small vans hangs up EU's merger approval

BRUSSELS — EU antitrust regulators are concerned about Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot / PSA's combined high market share in small vans and may require concessions to clear their $50 billion merger, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which are seeking to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker, were told of the European Commission's concerns last week. If Fiat and PSA fail to dispel the European Commission's doubts in the next two days and subsequently decline to offer concessions by Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, the deal would face a four-month-long investigation. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a June 17 deadline for its preliminary review, declined to comment. Fiat was not immediately available for comment while PSA had no immediate comment. Hiving off overlapping businesses, usually a regulatory demand to ensure more competition, could prove tricky for the carmakers because of the technicalities. Fiat and PSA are looking to merge to help offset slowing demand and shoulder the cost of making cleaner vehicles to meet tougher emissions regulations. The deal puts under one roof the Italian carmaker's brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati and the French company's Peugeot, Opel and DS. Related Video: Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot

2021 Maserati Quattroporte Trofeo First Drive Review | For the Ferrari faithful

Maserati is fighting hard for relevance right now. Its car lineup is severely dated with both the Quattroporte and Ghibli. The Levante faces more accomplished competition. At least there is hope on the horizon in the form of the Alfa — ahem, Maserati — MC20 mid-engine supercar and high-tech Nettuno engine. Plus, with the Grecale crossover soon to come, there could be brighter days ahead. ThatÂ’s tomorrow, but today we still have the vanguards of the early 2010s. The current flagship, more or less by default, is the big Quattroporte, and Maserati is giving it the Trofeo treatment for 2021 in an effort to bring it back onto our radar. Previous to now, the Trofeo trim was limited to the Levante. In the Quattroporte, the Trofeo formula is similar. It plops in the unbridled version of the Ferrari-sourced 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine — red wrinkle paint and all — making 580 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque. It is, without a doubt, the brightest and best part of this car. The most potent version previous to now was the Quattroporte GTS with its 530-horse version of the same Ferrari V8. Very little is done to the exterior to let you know this Quattroporte is the Trofeo apart from the script on the front fenders that are accentuated with red-painted side air ducts. Beyond this, the C-pillarÂ’s Maserati logo gets a red lightning bolt, and more carbon fiber trim is used throughout. It also comes with 21-inch forged aluminum wheels, a glossy black grille finish and the same restyled taillights applied throughout the 2021 Quattroporte lineup. Unlike “look-at-me” performance offerings from Mercedes-AMG or BMW's Alpina, MaseratiÂ’s Trofeo is notably subtle. This not only goes for the Trofeo extras, but the Quattroporte in general. The big trident in the grille announces its presence, but just as it's been from the beginning, the current-generation Quattroporte simply fades into the background in a parking lot. Our test car's beige paint certainly doesn't help. While most prefer their big luxury sedans to be restrained and tasteful, aren't Italian sedans supposed to have a certain degree of excitement and flare?  At least the Trofeo will be recognizable by the sound it makes. Even with a pair of turbochargers attached, the Ferrari engine and exhaust note are unmistakable. Although the V8 is the same basic engine as the Levante Trofeo's, the Quattroporte version gets new turbochargers, stronger internal components and new camshafts and valves.