Boss of car making giant Stellantis abruptly quits

The boss of car making giant Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, has quit with immediate effect following a boardroom clash.

His abrupt exit from the company - which owns brands including Vauxhall, Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Chrysler - comes two months after Stellantis issued a profit warning.

Last week, the firm also announced plans to close its Vauxhall van making factory in Luton, putting about 1,100 jobs at risk.

Before his resignation, Mr Tavares was one of the most powerful people in the global motor industry.

Tavares frequently made headlines in the UK by casting doubt over the future of Vauxhall operations, linking it to issues such as Brexit and government plans to force car makers to build more electric cars.

It is not yet clear whether his departure will affect the planned closure of Stellantis' Luton plant.

Stellantis's Vauxhall plant in Luton currently builds petrol and diesel vans and had been due to start making its medium-sized Vivaro electric van from 2025, before the decision to close it.

The company is now planning to combine its electric van production at its other UK plant in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.

Bailey said: “I think everything is up in the air. Whether or not that could be reversed I don’t know. One would hope but I suspect that that has gone sadly.

“…I don’t think there are any guarantees about the future whatsoever of Stellantis’s operations in the UK.”