Stellantis Revamps After CEO Exit

Automaker moves to revive Dodge and Chrysler labels after sales drop

- By Ryan Felton

Jeep is reviving its Cherokee-sized sport-utility vehicle. Dodge is bringing back the gas-engine version of its Charger muscle car. And Ram is hitting pause on its all-electric pickup truck.

In the weeks since the departure of former CEO Carlos Tavares, executives at global automaker Stellantis have been moving swiftly to turn around the U.S. operations, employing a series of changes to jump-start sales again.

At the top of their list is reinvigorating well-known American brands, such as Chrysler and Dodge, whose sales and lineups have withered in recent years.

Stellantis's brand leaders say they need to get back to basics by offering models at more-affordable price points and promotions that can help increase sales. Such moves, they say, could reverse a dismal 2024 that concluded with Tavares's exit in December.

Since the departure, the automaker has essentially shelved the former CEO's playbook. Stellantis has delayed the release of two high-profile electric-vehicle models and rehired some executives who had departed under Tavares, including bringing back a retired company veteran to lead the Ram brand.

Additionally, the company plans to launch new models in popular categories that it had pulled back under the previous leadership.

Among them are a replacement for the Jeep Cherokee, a nameplate that accounted for about 17% of Jeep's annual sales at one point before it was discontinued this decade.