MILAN— Shareholders of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot voted Monday to merge and create the world’s fourthlargest 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 chair 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 chair.
The only real hurdle left to closing the deal is listing shares of the new company, to be called Stellantis.
The companies expect it to be finalized Jan. 16, with shares in the combined company trading on Jan. 18 in Milan and Paris and Jan. 19 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Fiat Chrysler shares were up 0.5 per cent in New York on Monday at $ 18.19 ( U. S.), while Peugeot rose 1.7 per cent to 22.75 euros ($ 35.37 Canadian).
The new company will have the capacity to produce 8.7 million cars a year, behind Volkswagen, Toyota and RenaultNissan, and create five 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, topselling Jeep, and Italian luxury and sports brands Maserati and Alfa Romeo — pooling brands with histories spanning from 75 to more than 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 tiebreaking 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’s longtime goal of getting a U. S. foothold for the French carmaker he has run since 2014, and the clear money- maker for Fiat Chrysler.