Stellantis Antonio Filosa discusses measures to improve automobile quality

Stellantis chief executive officer Antonio Filosa discussed measures to improve automobile quality in Detroit, kursors.lv reported. The initiative targets persistent quality issues that placed multiple Stellantis brands below industry averages in recent consumer metrics.

Quality Control Rooms and Engineering Hires Tackle Defects

Filosa outlined the restructuring efforts during an appearance at the Automotive News World Congress as part of the broader “FaSTLAne 2030” plan. To catch manufacturing flaws before vehicles reach customers, the automaker has established nearly 50 quality control rooms. These spaces bring together large numbers of engineers, manufacturing specialists, and supplier quality engineers to examine components and systems needing urgent improvement. The company also hired more than 2,000 new engineers over the past year to deeply overhaul its existing quality programs.

J.D. Power Initial Quality Study Metrics

The push for better build quality follows troubling independent data from the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study published three months prior to the Detroit announcement. Stellantis brands included in the ranking performed worse than the industry average, which sat at 175 problems per 100 vehicles. Jeep achieved the highest ranking among Stellantis nameplates but still trailed 15 other automotive brands with 182 problems per 100 vehicles. Ram fared worse, finishing five positions from the bottom of the study with 222 problems per 100 vehicles. Despite these scores, Ford has held the position of top recall leader in the United States over the past two years, with Stellantis ranking second even though it stands as the sixth-largest U.S. automaker by sales volume.

Diverging Sales Data Across Jeep and Ram

While quality metrics placed Jeep ahead of Ram, third-quarter sales figures for 2026 revealed an opposing trend in the marketplace. Jeep sales dropped 20% in the third quarter to 128,542 vehicles compared to the same period in 2025. Year-to-date Jeep sales reached 413,793 vehicles, marking an 8% decline year-over-year. In contrast, Ram pickup sales grew 29% in the third quarter to 134,072 units, bringing its year-to-date total to 369,379 vehicles—a 20% increase over the comparable 2025 period.

Value Creation Program Targets 2028 Goals

Filosa stated that Stellantis teams are working to resolve identified vehicle problems rapidly to prevent customer inconvenience. The quality initiatives connect directly to a broader Value Creation Program aimed at slashing company operating costs by $7 billion by 2028. Filosa set a corporate benchmark for that same year, declaring that Stellantis brands should rank within the top quartile for quality across every market and segment where they compete.