FCA And PSA Are In Group Merger Talks
Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Abarth, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Lancia cars could one day be built on the same chassis and running gear as those from Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall. The two automotive behemoths are in talks over a merger that would see them keep pace with the world’s biggest car makers.
The manoeuvre is designed to stop the mighty leviathans of Toyota and the Volkswagen Group from running away with the market lead. Currently the Japanese giant and the seemingly invincible German concern are the world’s biggest car makers, producing 10.59 million and 10.9 million vehicles respectively in 2018.
A merged FCA-PSA group with a comparative pantheon of brands would still fall short in raw numbers, with the pair selling a combined 8.72 million cars in the same period, but it would spread research and development costs much thinner, protecting profits and increasing stability at a time when development costs are soaring and both groups are in danger of being left behind financially.
Talks are not yet in an advanced stage and for all we know the whole thing will collapse with no agreement, but we can see how the move makes sense for both parties. PSA would gain access to the huge US market and FCA would benefit from PSA’s vastly improved chassis and design departments, potentially lifting their sometimes lacklustre mainstream wares a couple of notches in a single stroke.
Both companies commented via press release to confirm the talks, but neither had much to say. We expect many luxurious luncheons to follow for the involved executives and lawyers over the next few weeks as the details are explored. We can’t help but wonder about Ferrari’s position in all this, but it’s likely that the Maranello-based supercar maker will maintain its semi-independence.
Comments
If I’m going to buy a Dodge then I don’t want a foreign built Dodge I want an American Dodge
What kind of vast British Leyland like blob would emerge from a deal like this?
Surely with such big overlaps in products they would be competing with themselves way more than they’d be competing with the likes of Toyota and vw?
This is exactly the fear that Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin, was talking about a few years ago that car makers would be forced to merge in the name of chasing ludicrous emission standards and profits… ultimately have just a few models in the line up and that there would be just a few players that would dominate the market while the others will be forced to merge… just like the aviation industry (where there are only 4 major commercial manufacturers). I can only imagine just how identical all cars will look like.
Can you squeeze a Hellcat engine into a Vauxhall Corsa? Asking for a friend…
Plastic crap meets plastic crap, what a time
FIAT did not manage to get Renault to merge with them because of Nissan.
Now they are going for other French brands.
I guess France is not that bad.
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If this merger were to happen, what would happen in terms of brand placement? How would fiat, Citroen and opel/ vauxhall differentiate themselves? The other brands ate thankfully different enough.
They could go full VW and smartly market themselves. I speculate that vauxhall/ opel would brand themselves against skoda by focussing on practicality and utility. Fiat may focus on small, characterful/ youthful cars like Seat. And i could see Citroen going against Suzuki and Daihatsu in the weird compact sector (would love to see this)? And Peugeot can hopefully continue to make good rival vehicles against VW and Honda in the premium-mainstream sector.
Or they could take the GM approach where the brands cannibalise each other and it ends up in huge financial mishap
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