The Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram retailers watched pricey and older cars pile up on their lots this year, and felt Carlos Tavares wasn't listening.

The carmaker said it hopes to conclude a hunt for Tavares’ replacement by the first half of 2025. In the meantime, John Elkann, Stellantis chairman and CEO of its largest shareholder Exor, will lead a new interim executive committee.

The departure of Carlos Tavares from the automotive giant he helped create follows his inability to move on from previously successful strategies when faced with new, shifting challenges.

Until a new CEO is hired, the company will be led by an interim executive committee chaired by John Elkann. Elkann, the great-great-grandson of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli, is Stellantis's chairman and the CEO of the automaker's largest shareholder, the Agnelli family investment vehicle Exor NV.

Carlos Tavares has resigned as Stellantis CEO after nearly four years, amid plunging electric vehicle sales and rising competition from Chinese car makers. His departure highlights the mounting challenges for legacy carmakers in the EV transition.

Carlos Tavares has resigned as CEO of Stellantis. Filling the void in his absence is an interim executive committee chaired by John Elkann, according to Stellantis. The company says it will appoint a new chief executive in the first half of 2025.

Tavares was forced out a year before the end of his contract due to falling profits and what appears to be his failure to cut costs quickly enough for Wall Street and European investors.

The company's board moved quickly after Tavares' departure and was unveiling the committee to key stakeholders by Monday morning.