Stellantis is establishing nearly 50 specialized quality war rooms across its manufacturing footprint in a direct attempt to resolve persistent build quality issues and recover lost market share. Speaking on September 30 at the 2026 Automotive News Congress in Detroit, CEO Antonio Filosa outlined the automaker’s operational strategy, framing the move as a crucial component of an ongoing organizational reset aimed at stabilizing its American brands.
The strategic push follows years of mixed results on key industry evaluation metrics. Brands such as Jeep and Ram continue to score below average on J.D. Power quality and reliability surveys, while key product rollouts have encountered public hurdles. Most notably, the Dodge Charger Daytona EV debuted in early 2025 with software that corporate leadership acknowledged was subpar, reinforcing the urgent need for a systematic overhaul of manufacturing oversight.
Targeting Defects and Billions in Cuts
According to Automotive News, inside these dedicated war rooms, cross-functional teams of design engineers, plant workers, quality specialists, and supplier engineers collaborate directly to resolve known component defects. Filosa noted that Stellantis added more than 2,000 engineers in 2025 to bolster quality controls, setting an ambitious target to place all vehicle segments in the top quartile for overall quality by 2028.
The quality push arrives as the automaker manages several notable safety actions across its lineup. Recent technical software glitches triggered a broad camera recall across multiple core brands, while federal safety regulators highlighted an issue where Jeep Grand Cherokee side airbags deployed later than intended during impact testing.
Hardware defects have created further assembly line complications for Ram and Dodge. Over 1.3 million pickup trucks were impacted by a critical seat belt anchor defect that required dealership repairs, while Dodge continues working to resolve detachment issues involving Durango rear spoilers. At the same time, Stellantis is attempting to balance quality improvements with its Value Creation Program, which employs 3,000 engineers tasked with achieving $7 billion in structural cost savings by 2028.
Dodge
Compromise Between Quality and Targets
Filosa’s creation of specialized war rooms demonstrates a willingness to confront assembly vulnerabilities, yet significant execution hurdles remain. Cross-functional task forces can triage immediate production flaws, but rapid defect mitigation cannot replace fundamental quality controls during the initial design phase.
Simultaneously overhauling build quality while stripping $7 billion in corporate costs creates an undeniable operational contradiction. While closing cost gaps with industry competitors is necessary for long-term financial health, cost-reduction programs can easily create friction with supplier and assembly standards. Until these engineering war rooms translate into cleaner launch cycles and measurable reliability improvements, consumers will remain cautious about Stellantis’ turnaround trajectory.
