The boss of Stellantis has resigned after overseeing a sharp drop in car sales, as the Vauxhall owner struggles with the shift to electric vehicles.

Carlos Tavares stepped down from his role as chief executive of the world’s fourth-largest carmaker on Sunday, with his departure accelerated following a split with the board.

It comes just days after Stellantis announced the closure of Vauxhall’s van-making factory in Luton, which bosses sought to blame on the Government’s zero emission vehicles (ZEV) mandate.

Following Mr Tavares’s abrupt departure, Stellantis’s senior independent director, Henri de Castries, said it was down to “different views” emerging between him and the board in recent weeks.

Mr de Castries said: “Stellantis’ success since its creation has been rooted in a perfect alignment between the reference shareholders, the board and the chief.

“However, in recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the board and the chief executive coming to today’s decision.”

Stellantis said it is setting up a new interim executive committee, led by chairman John Elkann, which will lead the company until the appointment of a new chief executive in the first half of 2025.

The company had previously said in October that it had begun a hunt for Mr Tavares’s successor, who had been planning to stay on until early 2026.

However, a steep decline in sales has raised questions over the strategy at Stellantis, which also makes Chrysler, Peugeot, Fiat and Jeep vehicles.

In its most recent quarterly results, covering July to September Stellantis, posted revenues of €33bn, marking a 27pc drop in the same period last year.

This stemmed from a 20pc drop in the shipment of cars to 1.1m, as the company battles reduced demand and heightened competition from cheaper Chinese rivals.

The strain on Stellantis’ balance sheet led to Mr Tavares announcing the closure of its Luton factory last week, putting 1,100 jobs at risk.

However, Stellantis said it was taking the decision “in the context of the ZEV mandate”, referring to electric car sales targets set by the UK government, which have been heavily criticised by carmakers.

Mr Tavares had launched a “strategic review” of its UK operations earlier this year, warning at the time that the ZEV mandate was making Britain a “very difficult market”.

Back in June, Maria Grazia Davino, Stellantis’s then-UK managing director, also warned that the company could close plants if the Government did not relax EV targets.

That was despite the company committing to making electric vehicles in Luton just nine months ago.