By Giulio Piovaccari and Nora Eckert

MILAN/DETROIT (Reuters) - Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares resigned abruptly on Sunday, two months after a profit warning at the maker of Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot cars that has lost around 40% of its value this year.

The company said it would seek to find a replacement CEO in the first half of 2025. Senior Independent Director Henri de Castries said in a statement the decision for Tavares to leave resulted from different views emerging in recent weeks among major shareholders, the board and Tavares.

Previously regarded as one of the most respected executives in the auto industry, Tavares came under criticism after Stellantis issued a profit warning on its 2024 results.

That included a forecast for a cash burn of up to 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion), mostly due to slow sales and bloating inventories in its North American market, the group's profit powerhouse.

The warning triggered a wide reshuffle of the group's top management, including changes of its chief financial officer and of its head of North American operations, but initially spared Tavares.

After that, however, Stellantis said Tavares was not seeking a new CEO term and would retire at the end of his current mandate, in early 2026.

Stellantis shares have lost around 40% of their value this year, while shares of U.S. rival Ford Motor are down 7% this year and General Motors up 55%.

"The Company's Board of Directors, under the Chairmanship of John Elkann, accepted Carlos Tavares' resignation today from his role as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect," Stellantis said in a statement.

Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family which founded Fiat and is the top Stellantis shareholder through its investment company EXOR, thanked Tavares for his role in the creation of Stellantis, the world's fourth largest carmaker by sales.

Other big shareholders include the Peugeot family and the French government, through public investment bank BPI France.

Stellantis said the process to appoint the new permanent CEO was well under way and would accelerate to conclude within the first half of 2025. In the meantime, a new interim executive committee, chaired by Elkann, would be established.

The process to select a new CEO was initially set to be completed by the final quarter of next year.

'IT COULDN'T GET WORSE'

Jeff Laethem, who owns a Stellantis dealership in Detroit, said he was relieved at the news of Tavares’ resignation. The last year has been punishing for him as inventory has built up and sales of once-dependable vehicles dropped.