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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.

Ram establishes new commercial truck division

To better go after the work truck market that its rivals Ford and General Motors have dominated for some time, the Ram Truck brand of Chrysler is starting a new sub-line of work vehicles called Ram Commercial. Rather than carrying the full Ram Commercial name, each model in the new lineup would wear the Tradesman trim level, which means that the Ram 1500 Tradesman is disappearing for retail buyers only and will still be available for commercial or fleet buyers.
The Ram Commercial lineup will consist of current products like the Ram 1500 Tradesman, Ram Heavy Duty Tradesman pickups and chassis cab trucks, and the Ram C/V Tradesman cargo van, but it will also be adding a new full-size van called the 2014 Ram ProMaster Tradesman based off the Fiat Ducato. It also looks like Ram Commercial will be getting a smaller van from the Fiat Professional brand to go up against small cargo-friendly vehicles like the Ford Transit Connect and Mini Clubvan, but we can't tell if this new model is based on the Fiat Scudo, Doblo and Florino.
Ram Commercial buyers will also benefit from the BusinessLink and "On The Job" programs. Both programs make it easier for businesses to purchase and maintain their fleets.

2019 Ram 1500 Warlock is priced right and revives a retro name

Few car companies have a history as rich and fun as Mopar, and few companies take advantage of it like Fiat Chrysler. Bringing back fantastic colors such as Sublime, or exciting models such as Power Wagon, FCA is an ace at retro vehicles. Well, it is most of the time. Then there are things like the 2019 Ram 1500 Warlock. But before we dig into the new one, we need to talk about the original, which was a trim introduced in 1976 on Dodge's old full-size truck. It was part of a line of pre-customized Dodges called "Adult Toys" ( we're not making that up). The Macho Power Wagon was one of them, and the modern Power Wagon's stripes come from that truck. The Warlock was likewise a pre-customized truck that came with gold pinstripes, wheels and upholstery, bucket seats and oak bed rails. It was also available with a six- or eight-cylinder engine and two- or four-wheel drive. The new Warlock does fit some of the original's spirit, since it's customized from the factory. It has a one-inch lift over the stock truck, powder-coated bumpers, fender flares, 20-inch wheels and decals aplenty. It's even available with six or eight cylinders and rear- or four-wheel drive. But our two main problems are that this doesn't look any different than other special Ram models, and nothing about it references the old Warlock. As for the first problem, we've seen all the parts and most of the stickers on this truck before, especially on the Rebel that has the same lights, grille, bumpers and fender flares. And for the second, this was a big missed opportunity to try out some cool retro touches, such as the gold wheels and pinstripes. A custom interior would have been especially nice. The new Warlock has just the plain "Diesel Gray" interior found on most basic Rams. And this is all without something unique like the original's wood bed rails. There is an upside to all of this, though, and it's that the Warlock offers truck buyers a way to get a new Rebel-style Ram for a lot less than the real thing. The Rebel trim no longer exists on the Ram 1500 Classic (what the Warlock is based on), and it starts at $46,635. The Warlock starts at just $37,040 with two-wheel drive and the standard V6. Buyers can also add a V8 and four-wheel drive as options. So the Warlock isn't a great Warlock, but it's a solid budget Rebel. Related Video: