A top Stellantis NV executive said Tuesday the automaker is bracing for higher tariffs in April by shifting extra parts into its U.S. plants and rushing production of certain Canada and Mexico-produced models that dealers need on their lots.

"That's not the way we would normally operate," Chief Financial Officer Doug Ostermann said of working with suppliers to stockpile parts that could be subject to tariffs. "But in order to mitigate any short-term impact, we've been taking some steps."

Ostermann, who took over the CFO job as part of a leadership overhaul in October, made the comments during the Wolfe Research Virtual Autos Summit. Beyond the Trump administration's tariff plans, he also discussed strategies that the Jeep and Ram maker is taking to bounce back from a dismal 2024, including the release of new and refreshed product offerings later this year.

The next big deadline in President Donald Trump's tariff plans is April 2, when he has pledged that 25% tariffs on vehicles and parts from Canada and Mexico will kick back in, along with potential reciprocal levies on goods from around the world. The tariffs could be especially tough on Stellantis, which has recently faced financial struggles and builds several key vehicles in both Canada and Mexico, such as Chrysler minivans, and some Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups.

Ostermann explained that Stellantis could navigate some initial tariff disruptions thanks to its current U.S. vehicle inventories: "When you look at the vehicles we produce in Canada and in Mexico, we have pretty good supply on the ground right now with our dealers, 70 or 80 days."

And the automaker continues to make its case to the Trump administration at different levels. Stellantis agrees with the administration's desire to build up domestic manufacturing — and announced investments shortly after Trump took office — but the carmaker's executives in recent weeks have sought to make their case that the new tariff policies shouldn't give an advantage to foreign competitors, including those that have little or no U.S. content in their cars.

"Even the products that are assembled in Mexico and Canada, many of them have very high U.S. content," in order to meeting current trade agreement requirements between the countries, Ostermann said.

That is "opposed to these 4 million vehicles that we've been talking about, that come in from places like Korea, Japan, Germany, that oftentimes have little to no U.S. content. So we feel if the U.S. administration wants to focus on supporting U.S. manufacturing, that's a place for them to also take a look at," he added.

New Ram, Jeep offerings coming

The automaker in recent months has cut many of its vehicle prices, after U.S. dealers last year raised concerns that too many models were unaffordable. Dealer orders, Ostermann said, have been "much stronger" to start the year.

Now, Stellantis is focused on getting both refreshed and all-new models onto dealer lots, Ostermann said — especially as it looks to regain lost market share in North America.

"The key to the market share this year really is broadening the coverage," the executive said.

The automaker is aiming for a recovery at Ram. It is finally selling popular higher-level trims of the Ram 1500 pickup that were expected last year but only started being produced a few months ago. The automaker is also focused on pushing its refreshed Heavy Duty pickups into the market, he said.

Ostermann also pledged that cheaper Ram 1500 trim offerings would be released this year, filling a price gap left behind when the more affordable Ram 1500 Classic was discontinued last year. And late in the year, he promised some fresh gas-powered powertrains from Ram, and that the extended-range hybrid Ramcharger pickup would go on sale.

For Jeep, Ostermann said the all-new replacement for the Cherokee SUV would come "late in the third quarter." The former Cherokee was discontinued in 2023. The new version will be a hybrid, though not a plug-in like several other Stellantis models.

"We've seen our competitors do very well with those (hybrid) powertrains, so I'm excited to get our first one into the market," Ostermann said. "And then, work on expanding the offer for that (hybrid) powertrain into more vehicles on the same platform."

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