Groupe PSA Chairman Carlos Tavares will becoe CEO of Stellantis early next year, assuming the … [+]
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The long-planned merger to create the Euro-American automaking giant Stellantis will be voted on by Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA shareholders on January 4.
The Stellantis merger vote, which will create the world’s fourth-biggest automaker behind the Volkswagen Group, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan Alliance, was confirmed by both FCA and PSA this morning, European time.
Stellantis would create a $38 billion company, trying to iron out the cultural differences between the Italian-American FCA and the mostly French PSA.
The companies have planned to finalize the merger by the end of Q1 next year.
The move would help FCA on the product side and PSA on the footprint side of the auto business.
The Italian arm of FCA has specialized in a sub-compact segment that is being legislated out of existence in Europe, while PSA products have no toehold in the United States, though it has a strong presence in China and Europe.
With European emissions space to spare, the Stellantis merger would also ween FCA off its emissions-credits deal with Tesla
TSLA
There would likely be some brand rationalization, too, as the merged Stellantis would include PSA’s Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Opel brands, alongside FCA’s existing Fiat, Lancia, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Abarth, Mopar and SRT brands.
In December, Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and French Peugeot maker PSA agreed to combine in a $38 billion all-share deal, uniting brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Maserati with the likes of Peugeot, Opel, Citroen and DS.
The two companies have pledged to finalize the merger by the end of the first quarter of next year.
