Shareholders of both companies overwhelmingly approved the merger on Monday, the automakers said.
Upon completion of the merger, the combined company will become the world’s fourth largest automaker, said Jeff Schuster, an analyst at LMC Automotive. Together, the companies are worth an estimated $ 57 billion.
While Fiat Chrysler and PSA compete in Europe, PSA is virtually non-existent in the US where Fiat Chrysler is the fourth largest car manufacturer in terms of sales in the country. However, both companies have struggled to compete in China’s fast-growing auto market, Schuster said. The merger will not help with that immediately, he said, so that remains a challenge for the new company.
Although the two companies compete with each other in Europe, their brands have slightly different market positions, Schuster said.
And I think there is one [electric vehicle] expertise PSA does not have that FCA, “he said,” so there is a nice synergy there. “
The creation of the new company will help free up resources as it shifts to electric and autonomous vehicle technologies, said Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Cox Automotive.
“The creation of Stellantis is just a large-scale example of an underlying trend that we are currently seeing in the automotive sector as all serious automakers have the monumental task of reshaping their operations with a view to 2030, when will be EVs and autonomous technology shifted from emerging to mainstream, ”she said.
Shares of Stellantis will start trading on the Paris and Milan stock markets on Monday, January 18 and the New York Stock Exchange the following day.
The merger will require some final regulatory approvals, the companies said, including those from the European Union and the European Central Bank.