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Macron and Le Pen decry 'shocking' Stellantis CEO pay

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger in the French presidential vote, Marine Le Pen, on Friday both decried as “shocking” the multimillion euro payout to the CEO of carmaker Stellantis. Stellantis CEO Carlos TavaresÂ’ remuneration package of 19.15 million euros just a year after the company was formed became an issue as Macron and Le Pen campaigned ahead of the April 24 runoff vote. Polls show purchasing power and inflation are a top voter concern. Stellantis was formed last year through the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, perceived by many voters as being too pro-business, called the pay package “astronomical” and pushed for a Europe-wide effort to set ceilings on “abusive” executive pay. “ItÂ’s shocking, itÂ’s excessive,” he said Friday on broadcaster France-Info. “People canÂ’t have problems with purchasing power, difficulties, the anguish theyÂ’re living with, and see these sums. Otherwise, society will explode.” Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who enjoys support from many working-class voters, called for bringing in more workers as shareholders. “Of course itÂ’s shocking, and itÂ’s even more shocking when it is the CEOs who have pushed their society into difficulty,” she said Friday on BFM television. “One of the ways to diminish this pay, which is often out of proportion with economic life, is perhaps to allow workers in as shareholders.” Stellantis continued to back the package despite a 52.1% to 47.9% vote rejecting it at an annual shareholders' meeting chaired from the Netherlands, where the company is legally based, on Wednesday. The company, citing Dutch civil code, noted that the vote is advisory and not binding. The company later said in a statement that it took note of the vote, and will explain in an upcoming 2022 remuneration report “how this vote has been taken into account.” In the 2021 report, the company identified peer group companies that it used as a salary benchmark, including U.S. companies like Boeing, Exxon Mobile, General Electric as well as carmakers Ford and General Motors. Stellantis, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Maserati, reported net profits last year had tripled to 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion). The French government is the third-largest shareholder in Stellantis, with a 6.15% stake through the Bpifrance Participations S.A. French public investment bank.

Maserati Project24 is a custom, limited-edition, track-day special

Maserati joins the parade of limited-run, track-only cars designed to a set of specs instead of a set of established racing regulations. The entry is known by the codename Project24 at the moment, and Maserati says it will build just 62 examples. We don't know the significance of 24 nor of the production run. When the automaker launched the MC20, it said it planned to get return to heritage values founded at Formula 1 and sports car tracks around the world. While we wait on an MC20 developed for FIA GT racing, Project24 will be automaker's second outlet for racing aspirations, the Italians planning on entering Formula E next season. It's possible the Project24 is an offshoot of Maserati's reportedly dead GT3 program for the MC20. In December 2020, Daily Sports Car reported that a GT3 challenger "was said to be under development" when Maserati debuted the MC20, but perhaps due to ramifications of Covid, the circuit version was "shelved for the time being." The automaker hasn't divulged performance targets for the Project24, only a weight target: Below 1,250 kilograms, or 2,756 pounds. If achieved, the racer would be 552 pounds less than Maserati's claimed weight for the MC20. Part of the weight loss comes courtesy of carbon fiber bodywork that's two inches wider than on the MC20, Lexan windows, and making the passenger's seat optional. The gains should be felt everywhere around a track, especially because Project24's 3.0-liter V6 engine sports a larger pair of turbos that boost output by 119 horsepower, to 740 hp. The road car's eight-speed automatic is replaced by a six-speed sequential auto with paddle shifters, from there sending power to the rear wheels through a mechanical limited slip differential instead of the electric LSD in the MC20. Brembo CCMR racing brakes hang off a double wishbone suspension with anti-roll bars front and rear and adjustable dampers, just behind custom, forged 18-spoke center lock wheels on racing slicks. An adjustable front splitter and rear wing fine tune aero performance, on-board air jacks help pit crews put in the best performance.   The cabin offers an adjustable, multifunction carbon fiber steering wheel and pedal box. The wheel contains a digital display working alongside a dash and data acquisition system, but a driving performance optimization display is extra.

Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.