PSA and FCA Reach For the Stars in Merger

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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16th July 2020

The much publicized merger of the Groupe Peugeot Société Anonyme (PSA Group) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is looking to the stars in a bid to rival both automotive and digital giants.

In a major step, as they move towards the completion of their 50:50 merger, the companies have jointly announced that the corporate name of the new group will be Stellantis, from the Latin “stello” meaning “to brighten with stars”. It will have to be a success of celestial magnitude, too, if the new entity is to be able to match the might of today’s biggest players in the automotive market.

That’s because, while carmakers like Toyota, Volkswagen and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance dominate the global hardware market, digital giants like Alphabet and Amazon are already throwing their commercial muscle about in the software areas increasingly becoming vital for the future of connected autonomous vehicles. Nonetheless, the companies claim the merger will make them “one of the new leaders in the next era of mobility while at the same time preserving all the exceptional value and the values of its constituent parts”.

In truth, the new entity will boast an impressive spread of brands from entry level to high-end premium products including household names like Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Ram, Maserati, Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall. So it will be able to combine the scale of a global business with a wealth of automotive expertise and resources that should meet the sustainable mobility solutions demanded in the coming decades.

The Stellantis name will be used exclusively at the group level, as a corporate brand so as not to interfere or dilute the impact, for marketing purposes, of each component brand whose names and the logos will remain unchanged. Completion of the merger project is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by both companies’ shareholders at their respective extraordinary general meetings and the satisfaction of antitrust and other regulatory requirements.

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_