MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis is retaining strong pricing power in its North American profit powerhouse, chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday, as investors in the Franco-Italian automaker approved his salary for last year.
A gradual resolution in supply chain disruptions could affect automakers’ pricing power this year, according to some analysts, after recent output curbs helped manufacturers raise prices and cut discounts, supporting their margins.
Tesla this month cut its prices in the United States for the fifth time this year.
“We are still managing our pricing power in a very efficient way as we are protecting the highest average transaction price of the industry in the U.S. market,” Tavares told the group’s shareholders’ meeting.
The North American market accounted for around 60% of the group’s adjusted operating profit in 2022.
CEO SALARY APPROVED
In a consultative-only vote, around 80% of Stellantis shareholders on Thursday voted in favor of the remuneration report for senior management, at a time when months-long strikes by workers over pay are hitting France amid a cost-of-living crisis.
The total remuneration for Tavares, including long-term incentives which might not necessarily turn in full into a payment, amounted last year to around 23.5 million euros ($26 million), compared with 19.2 million euros in 2021. The actual compensation he received for last year fell 13% to 14.9 million euros, Stellantis has said.
“Our remuneration report reflects our belief of rewarding performance based on the achievement of ambitious goals, both financial and ESG-related objectives,” said Chairman John Elkann, the scion of Italy’s Agnelli family which is Stellantis’ largest single shareholder through its Exor holding company.
The group has said its compensation policy needed to be competitive in the global market for talent.
Investors last year rejected Tavares’ salary, one of the highest in the industry, amid criticism from trade unions and politicians, especially in France, which was in the middle of a presidential election campaign dominated by surging inflation.
Stellantis shareholders also on Thursday backed the appointment of Exor partner Benoit Ribadeau-Dumas as a board member, replacing former Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli, who resigned in January.
($1 = 0.9041 euros)
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Nick Zieminski and Mike Harrison)
