The family is growing.
Fiat, Opel, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Maserati will now come out of the factories of Stellantis, the world's fourth largest automotive group.
The group's 14 brands represent around 9% of the global automotive market, with 8 million vehicles sold in 2019.
"We will play a leading role over the next decade by redefining mobility as our founding fathers did with great energy," FCA President John Elkann said at the start of January, referring to a "historic merger" .
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Monday, the leaders of the new group are to launch the Stellantis action ("strewn with stars", in Latin) on the markets of the Milan and Paris stock exchanges, then Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tuesday, the former chairman of the board of PSA and new CEO of Stellantis Carlos Tavares must unveil at a first press conference his vision for the group of 400,000 employees, before presenting his strategic plan in the coming months.
Getting over the Covid
The challenges are numerous, between the electrification of the ranges, the motorists who turn to the second hand or the rental and the health crisis which weighs on the manufacture and the sales of vehicles.
Global sales of PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, Vauxhall) tumbled 27.8% in 2020.
Matthias Heck from Moody's looks forward to the merger because the groups “improve their global coverage, can collaborate technologically and in various segments and will realize savings thanks to the synergies and experience of PSA, which was able to set the right price and manage its costs ”.
PSA and Fiat-Chrysler have estimated that the synergies would ultimately save up to 5 billion euros per year, in both manufacturing costs and research.
These economies worry unions and states alike.
After opposing a Fiat marriage to Renault, the French government has greeted with the Italian government the birth of Stellantis.
Power issue between France and Italy
However, on both sides of the Alps, care will be taken to ensure that the new colossus "also contributes to industrial employment in Italy and France", assured the French Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire and his Italian counterpart Stefano Patuanelli in early January.
To keep control, Italy is even considering taking a stake in Stellantis: "a possible presence of the State in the share capital of the new group, similar to that of the French government, cannot and should not be taboo. ", Italian Deputy Minister of Economy Antonio Misiani told La Repubblica newspaper.
The French State has a 6.2% stake in Stellantis.
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To successfully complete this merger while respecting competition rules, the two groups reduced their dominance in the small utility sector.
They also amended their contract so that their union remains a marriage of equals.
FCA has lowered the amount of an exceptional dividend paid to its shareholders, from 5 to 2.9 billion euros.
PSA has withdrawn from the equipment manufacturer Faurecia.
Unions on their guard
On the trade union side, the majority accompanied a merger that they considered inevitable.
But they remain on their guard.
“See you in a year!
“, Summarized in a press release the FO delegate to PSA, Olivier Lefebvre.
“Our confidence in the future will obviously be accompanied throughout the year by vigilance on the adequacy of social and industrial policies”.
The planned synergies are also of concern to the equipment manufacturers who supply the two groups.
"Challenges are to be expected but also opportunities," Claude Cham, president of the federation of equipment manufacturers (FIEV), told AFP.
“In both cases, international equipment manufacturers will be in the best position to meet the demands.
The smallest and the least international and diversified are the most at risk ”.
