Stellantis to give each of its 14 car brands 10 years of funding - CEO

(Reuters) - Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday each of the automaker's 14 car brands will receive funding over the next 10 years to prove themselves.

"For the time being, we love them all and you cannot kill what you love," Tavares said at an Automotive News conference in answer to a question whether the automaker needs so many brands.

"When you love them, you give them a chance," he added. "We are giving a 10-year visibility for each brand CEO in terms of product planning and funding."

Stellantis was created from the merger of France's PSA and Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler. Its brands include Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and others.

Tavares added that the company is re-engineering its strategy in China. "We are now negotiating and changing very many things at core," he said. "That is also something that needs time."

He said before Stellantis presents its overall strategic plan at the end of the year, there will be announcements around "significant bricks of the things that we are right now negotiating and building with some partners." He did not elaborate.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Dan Grebler)