At Least Stellantis’ Dealers Think 2026 Is Looking Up

Stellantis has had a rough go of it over the past few years, but dammit, its dealers feel the Transatlantic automaker is poised for a big rebound in 2026 with the guidance of its new CEO, Anthony Filosa. So far, Filosa has reversed a lot of what frustrated dealers about his predecessor, Carlos Tavares. He’s focused on bringing in a mix of powertrain options and resurrected the Hemi. 

On top of that, Filosa managed to snap a two-year sales decline streak in his first full quarter as CEO, and he achieved the first year-over-year U.S. market share increase for Jeep since 2022. He also ended a five-quarter sales slide for Ram in the spring. 1500 deliveries rose 10% in Q3, as well — a second consecutive quarterly increase for the brand’s most important vehicle. I’ve gotta think the return of the 5.7-liter V8 is a big reason for that sales jump. 

Keep in mind, this dude has only been at the helm since June, so it would make sense that dealers expect the good times to keep rolling into the new year. From Automotive News:

Sean Hogan, incoming chairman of the Stellantis National Dealer Council, is pleased with the company’s early progress under Filosa.

Hogan highlighted the automaker’s $13 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing, a more effective marketing strategy and the company’s hiring of more technical staff to help dealerships.

Hogan said a lot of bold moves made in 2025 will bear fruit in 2026.

“Everything they’ve done is to lay a foundation for the upcoming years of real success,” said Hogan, vice president of Sierra Auto Group, which has two Stellantis stores in the Los Angeles area. “To me, one of the most exciting things too was watching the Hemi come back. That just said that the current Stellantis leadership team, they get it, they get our customers [and] they know what they have to deliver.”

Hogan said dealers pushed for Filosa to be selected as CEO. Filosa proved himself to U.S. dealers when he was CEO of the Jeep brand and COO of North America, a role he still holds as well.

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“This is a guy that’s going to listen to the dealers,” Hogan said. “He gets the product, he understands what he has to do. … By him retaining his role as the North American COO, that was a big deal to us because that gave us access to him. It enables the dealers to be able to pick up the phone and talk to him, and his focus is where we need it to be, which is product and production.”

One big difference between Filosa and Tavares is where they spend their time. The new CEO is based in the Detroit area, whereas Tavares lived in Europe, and that’s where he focused most of his energy, according to dealers.

Filosa, on the other hand, said it was a “clear priority” for his team to grow Stellantis in the U.S., Auto News reports. He inherited a company in clear decline, and, for the time being, seems to be righting the ship.