Stellantis says he won’t sell Chrysler, commits to brands

Stellar STLA and its 14 international car brands have had a tough time recently. Jeep has seen sales decline in America, fighting brands were threatened with the chop in Europe and the heir of the Chrysler family has warned that he is the only person who can save brand. Now, Stellantis has responded to such criticism, saying it is not for sale and is committed to all 14 of its brands.

Last week, Stellantis STLA received a 17-page proposal from Chrysler heir Frank B. Rhodes, who argued that the brand would be much safer in his hands. However, the multinational giant politely declined that invitation with a 75-word statement, reports Drive. As the site explains:

The company sent a response, but instead of contacting him directly, a press release was sent.

“Stellantis recognizes the interest in its North American brands and reaffirms the company’s commitment to its entire portfolio of 14 strong, iconic brands, each of which has been given a 10-year timeframe to build a profitable and sustainable business,” it said. it says in the press release of August 30. “Like the Jeep and Ram brands, Chrysler and Dodge are at the forefront of Stellantis’ transformation to clean mobility, benefiting from the group’s cutting-edge technology and scale. The company is not looking to separate any of its brands.”

Unsurprisingly, Rhodes was disappointed, but more by the way the communication was handled than by the dismissive tone. “Since I sent the proposal to Carlos Tavares and (Chrysler and Ram CEO) Christine Feuell, I expected the courtesy of their response to come directly to me. Instead, I learned about their comments from my friends in the media.”

Despite saying the company remains committed to all 14 brands, Stellantis hasn’t shown much support for struggling brands in recent months. The automaker previously warned that brands such as Lancia, DS automobiles and the Abarth could be further reassessed, adds Engine1and company boss Carlos Tavares also claimed that any brand not making money would be “shut down”, as Motor1 explains:

This reaffirmed long-term commitment from Stellantis comes just a month after the CEO suggested unprofitable brands could be killed off. Carlos Tavares said the bleeding automakers will get the axe: “If they don’t make money, we close them down. We can’t afford to have brands that don’t make money.”

Shortly after this statement was made, Reuters quoted industry experts as saying that Maserati could be put up for sale and that Lancia or DS Automobiles could be phased out. However, it appears that none of this is true as all 14 will continue under Stellantis. It really wouldn’t make sense to give up on Lancia now, given that the Italian marque is finally getting new models and once again expanding its presence outside of its home market.

All of which makes it seem like Stellantis is committed to his brands…for now. The automaker simply restated its 10-year plan for profitability, which began in 2021 when Stellantis was formed by the accession of Fiat-Chrysler and the PSA group. So does this mean Rhodes will be able to reclaim his family brand in 2031? We will have to wait and see.

A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik.