Michael Filazzola to take over from the retiring Kevin Flynn, but no indication that Stellantis will bring all its brands under one Aussie roof
The baton for Stellantis Australia’s embattled brands – including Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Fiat/Fiat Professional and Abarth – has been passed onto Michael Filazzola, after the retirement of incumbent Kevin Flynn.
Filazzola (below), a veteran of almost three decades in the automotive space, will commence his role in March, after concluding a stint as GM of Product Development at Bapcor.
He replaces Flynn, whose four-year stint in Australia included a complete revamp of the Jeep brand’s back-end service structure, with improvements made to spares supply and pricing and a renewed focus on customer service issues that plagued the brand.
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His tenure also coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent demolition of new vehicle supply lines around the world, as well as the 2021 change of ownership of the brands he governed in Australia come under the wide-ranging Stellantis umbrella.
Flynn will return to South Africa to reflect on a 47-year career in the automotive space, which included stints in India and the UK.
“I want to thank Kevin for his dedication and commitment to our business and the industry,” said Billy Hayes, Stellantis Senior Vice President, India and Asia Pacific Region.
“He’s had an exemplary career and I, along with the rest of the Stellantis team, wish him the very best.”
Filazzola assumes the leadership role of the former FCA brands at a potentially precarious time, with sales across all of its brands in sharp decline locally.
All brands are also in the midst of an electrification-led refresh led by head office.
Alfa Romeo, for example, will be an electric-only brand by 2027, with internal-combustion engine production to cease in 2025.
Jeep, meanwhile, continues to underperform locally, though there is a genuine opportunity for the brand’s latest Grand Cherokee to make hay against supply-cruelled rivals like the Toyota LandCruiser.
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Australia and New Zealand are also unique in that Stellantis – which also counts Peugeot, Citroen, RAM, Maserati and Opel amongst its brands – isn’t able to bring all of these products under the one roof, thanks to existing supply agreements across both territories.
It’s a situation that Filazzola – who has worked in markets including China and South-East Asia, and for companies including GM and Holden – acknowledges.
“I am looking forward to joining Stellantis and working with the team across its robust suite of brands,” he said in a statement.
“With the company focus moving towards electrification, and a new generation of vehicles from all brands being launched into the market, I feel like this is a great time to join Stellantis.”
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://editorial.csnstatic.com/editors/tim-robson-author.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Tim Robson[/author_info] [/author]
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