Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot shareholders approve merger

Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot shareholders approve merger

Shareholders of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot voted Monday to merge and create the world’s fourth-largest auto company which, its architects hope, can more readily take on an enormous technological shift in the industry.
Addressing separate meetings, PSA Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares and Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann spoke of the “historic” importance of the merger, which combines legacy car companies that helped write the industrial histories of the United States, France and Italy. Tavares will run the new company, while Elkann stays on as chairman.

Before the merger is finalized, shares in the new company, to be called Stellantis, must the launched. It will be traded in Milan, New York and Paris. Fiat Chrysler was trading up 2.5% in Milan at 15.03 euros, while Peugeot rose 3.4% in Paris to 23.13 euros.

The new company will have the capacity to produce 8.7 million cars a year, behind Volkswagen, Toyota and Renault-Nissan, and create 5 billion euros in annual savings. That is higher than the 3.7 billion euros estimated when the deal was announced in December 2019.

The marriage of the Italian-American and French rivals is built on the promise of cost savings in the capital-hungry industry during a technological shift to electrified powertrains and autonomous driving. But what remains to be seen is if it will be able to preserve jobs and heritage brands in a global market still suffering from the pandemic.

“Together we will be stronger than individually,″ Tavares told a virtual gathering of eligible shareholders. “The two companies are in good health. These two companies have strong positions in their markets.”

The new company will put together under one roof French mass-market carmakers Peugeot and Citroen, top-selling Jeep and Italian luxury and sports brands Maserati and Alfa Romeo - pooling brands with histories spanning from 75 to over 120 years with strong emotional pull in their home markets.

“We are living through a profound era of change in our industry,” Elkann, heir to the Fiat-founding Agnelli family and Fiat Chrysler’s biggest shareholder, told shareholders. “We believe that the coming decade will redefine mobility as we know it.”

While the tie-up is billed as a merger of equals, the power advantage goes to PSA, with Tavares running Stellantis and holding the tie-breaking vote on the 11-seat board. Tavares is set to take full control of the company early this year, possibly by the end of January.

Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley will head North American operations, which is key to Tavares’ long-time goal of getting a U.S. foothold for the French carmaker he has run since 2014, and the clear money-maker for Fiat Chrysler.

Manley said about 40% of the savings will come from combining platforms, the underpinnings of vehicles, and engines and transmissions. The combination will optimize “our investments in R&D, and improving manufacturing processes and tooling efficiencies,” he said.

Another 35% of the savings will come from joint purchasing, especially with electric and high tech components, he said, while 7% will come from sales, general and administrative cost savings.

The companies will get the rest of the savings from optimizing other areas including logistics, supply chain, quality and parts sales, he said.

“Clearly the success of the merger will be measured by the ability to effectively integrate the two companies so as to enable the realization of these vast synergies,” Manley said. “We feel confident that this integration can be achieved as both companies have previously gone through significant business combinations. And by virtue of successful execution, they have both emerged stronger from each of them.”

Such a deal was long wanted by Fiat Chrysler’s long-time CEO Sergio Marchionne, who had predicted the necessity of consolidation in the industry. He was unable to find a deal before his sudden death in July 2018.

Tavares comes into the new role with a reputation as a cost-cutter and skilled manager, qualities he put to use as head of Nissan’s North American operations from 2009 to 2011 and in integrating Opel and Vauxhall into the PSA Peugeot family after buying them in 2017. Experts say he is likely to follow a blueprint that showed little tolerance for vehicles or ventures that didn’t make money.

That could put into the crosshairs any of the 14 car brands that Stellantis will house, five from PSA and nine from Fiat Chrysler. The companies also have significant overlaps in manufacturing and engineering operations in Europe.

PSA told the AP last week that decisions on brands would be communicated after the deal is closed. Fiat Chrysler said there are no plans to close any plants.

Analyst Patrick Hummel from UBS bank said he expected “immediate action to be taken right after closing, for example by bringing FCA’s European product on the PSA architectures.”

Still, analysts point out that gaining cost savings is only the first of many that the new company will face. Both PSA and Fiat Chrysler have poor records and infrastructure in China, and both are lagging in electrified powertrains, requiring investments that will off-set some of the savings.

PSA has set a goal of having all-electric or hybrid powertrains on its entire model range by 2025, while Fiat Chrysler has committed to electrifying 30 of its models by 2022.

Meeting those challenges will take more than restructuring prowess, said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the Center for Automotive Research in Germany.

“Carlos Tavares is a restructuring guy. He knows how to restructure, but he has no ideas for a new tack,” he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
×