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The cars of the near future will be manufactured on a French technical basis, powered by the PSA Group. In parallel, the company, which with the iconic Fiat 500 is Europe’s best-known small car maker, is opening up to larger models.
As a tornado hits the world, and within it, the automotive industry in old Europe is being forced by a technological change resulting in, among other things, previously unimaginable marriages between manufacturing companies. The latest news is that Fiat has agreed with the PSA Group, the French Empire of Peugeot, Citroën and DS, and the German brand Opel, to build Fiat models on the technical foundations of the French in the future. Magyar Nemzet cites the Automotive News story, according to which Fiat has already issued instructions to immediately halt all development and tool design activities related to current small cars, and the Peugeot CMP floorboard will be introduced at the Polish plant.
European motorists may have gotten used to brand marriages, but it was previously unthinkable for a German and a French brand to furnish together. Many were skeptical of the PSA and Opel merger, because instead of combining solid German technique with French flamboyance, it was the other way around:
German-looking cars are built on the foundations of Peugeot.
In the case of Fiat and PSA, there is no such contrast of fire and water, both manufacturers represent the Latin craze for car building. The 1960s and 1970s created an Italian and French small car school, providing simple and durable vehicles, but livable, pleasant, and stylish at a relatively low cost. However, technological changes have transformed these small cars: Due to emissions restrictions, electronics have emerged and larger, heavier and more rigid bodies have had to be built for crash safety. The end of this process is building hybrids and electric cars, both of which make it impossible for manufacturers to sell and even profit from cheap, small, light and simple vehicles. Fiat, which failed to prosper in the Italian market, first bought the American Chrysler and then negotiated with the Renault-Nissan group. Eventually, they agreed with the PSA group, built by perhaps the most skilled top automotive manager of the time, Carlos Tavares of Portugal.
Previous mergers will thoroughly redesign the European manufacturing market. In terms of massive brands, there are fewer and fewer players on the battlefield outside of the VW Group: Renault and Ford stuck with the PSA conglomerate. Renault, as a partly state-owned company, can count on the French budget in an emergency, but will have to resolve its deteriorating relationship with Nissan or join a larger group. Ford’s parent company has now undergone a personnel change and the company’s European subsidiary is expected to reorganize in the near future.
Behind the wave of European mergers is the push to switch to electric propulsion. The development of new technology consumes a lot of money, while the payback time cannot be predicted.
One of the short-term victims of the change could be the segment of small city cars, Although common sense would dictate that underground parking lots and garages should be filled with those cars rather than SUV-evoking monsters. It may be worthwhile to provide state support for the purchase of small cars during the transition years because there is a fear that families will buy larger, older and more polluting used cars.
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