Shoot us a Text.

Hello Monday! Today we dive into Stellantis’ leadership shuffle as Jeep’s Antonio Filosa takes on this crucial role, Fiat stirs up fun with a cheeky EV campaign, and SpaceX makes history by catching its massive Starship booster midair.

• Antonio Filosa, Jeep’s CEO since last November, is now also stepping into the role of Stellantis North America COO. With a sales slump and dealer frustrations, Filosa faces a challenging balancing act as he takes on this dual role.
  • Antonio replaces Carlos Zarlenga, who was COO for just 8 months.
  • Dealers' expectations want better inventory movement and product support and Filosa aims to align product delivery and pricing with market needs.
  • This change comes as Stellantis made broader leadership changes, including a new CFO.
  • "It's no secret that we have work to do," said Filosa on LinkedIn.
• Fiat has launched a playful social media campaign contrasting its small 500e EV with the massive Tesla Cybertruck. The campaign humorously highlights the size difference while promoting Fiat’s electric city car as a charming and practical alternative.
  • Video titled "You Say Tomato, We Say Pomodoro" compares the two vehicles as Cybertruck is portrayed as "shock" while the 500e is "awwwww."
  • Fiat emphasizes the 500e’s ease of use in city driving.
  • Campaign aims to inject humor while promoting Fiat's first electric vehicle for U.S. consumers.
  • “Our little cinquecento...embodies what an electric city car should be,” said Stellantis CMO Olivier Francois.
• SpaceX successfully launched and caught its massive Starship booster, marking a historic achievement in spaceflight. The bold maneuver showcases SpaceX's innovation as it works toward its goal of fully reusable rockets for moon and Mars missions.
  • Starship launched from South Texas on Oct. 13 where the booster, "Super Heavy," was caught midair by the launch tower’s "chopstick" arms.
  • SpaceX continues to make Starship fully reusable for rapid relaunch capability.
  • This mission also featured improvements to Starship’s heat shield.
  • "A big step toward making life multiplanetary," said Elon Musk after the flight.

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/

JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/