Antonio Filosa was named new CEO of Stellantis last week.Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.

The appointment of Antonio Filosa as Stellantis’s new chief executive officer last week is the triumph of hope over experience.

The board of the world’s No. 4 carmaker had the chance to right the wrongs of former CEO Carlos Tavares, who resigned in December after his disastrous North American strategy sank sales and sent shares of the company into freefall, losing more than two-thirds of their value since early 2024.

In voting unanimously to install Mr. Filosa, an insider who has been the company’s chief operating officer for the Americas for only a few months, the board has set itself up for a potential rerun of Mr. Tavares’s tenure – and may be on a similarly bumpy track that derailed Walt Disney Co. and Boeing Co.

It has also disappointed investors, many of whom wanted an outsider with deep experience in the all-important North American market and especially an understanding of pricing on core brands such as Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram, which are favoured........

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