Stellantis says new executive with EV chops will lead manufacturing in North America

Stellantis has poached an executive from electric vehicle maker Rivian for a key manufacturing post.

Stellantis announced Tuesday that Tim Fallon, who led EV manufacturing operations at Rivian and had spent 16 years in production roles before that at Nissan, will take over as the automaker's head of manufacturing in North America.

“Tim brings his relentless pursuit of operational excellence and strong track record of manufacturing experience, including electric vehicle production, to Stellantis as we enter this critical stage of our transformation,” Carlos Zarlenga, chief operating officer for Stellantis in North America, said in a news release. “With this year marking the start of our electric vehicle offensive, I have full confidence that Tim's passion and collaborative spirit will lead the team to deliver the highest quality vehicles for our customers.”

The release noted that Mike Resha, who had served in the role since 2020, would assume global responsibility for injection and stamping operations. The moves are effective Sept. 2, the company said.

The news comes as Stellantis, owner of Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat, struggles with a variety of challenges related to inventory and down sales in the United States. The manufacturing leadership moves at the company are also the latest in a slew of executive changes in recent months. In addition, the automaker has been under fire from the UAW over its commitment to reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant.

However, poaching Fallon from Rivian could be significant as the company has numerous EVs slated for launch this year, including a Ram pickup and Dodge Charger muscle car. Still, the EV sales picture has become more complicated in the United States with a slower ramp-up than predicted, showing the challenges inherent in the transition.

As for Rivian, CEO RJ Scaringe sent out an email Tuesday explaining that Fallon "has decided to pursue new opportunities outside of Rivian. Over the past two years, Tim has been instrumental in ramping our operations in Normal. It has been a pleasure to work closely with him and we are truly appreciative of his contributions to Rivian."

Scaringe was referencing the EV automaker's plant in Normal, Illinois.

Scaringe wrote that Carlo Materazzo, the company's vice president of supply chain and logistics, would fill Fallon's spot in the interim. Interestingly, the email noted that Materazzo had worked "most recently at Stellantis as the head of assembly operations and head of manufacturing planning and control. He also previously worked for Fiat Chrysler as the global head of World Class Manufacturing, overseeing development of the carmaker’s production system worldwide."

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Fallon's "departure adds to the more than half a dozen high-level leaders that have left the company in recent months, including at least four C-suite executives."

The report noted that the move comes a few weeks into the tenure of Javier Varela as Rivian's chief operations officer. Varela held a similar role at Volvo Cars.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.