[ad_1]
ARNE DEDERT
The EU Commission announced on Monday. The acquisition will lead to the fourth largest automotive company in the world.
“We can approve the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot SA, as their commitments will facilitate the entry and expansion of new suppliers in the light commercial vehicle market,” said EU Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager. “In the other markets where the two automakers are currently active, the competition will not lose any of its dynamism even after the merger.”
PSA with the brands Opel, Peugeot, DS and Citroën and FCA decided their merger plans in December 2019. According to previous information, they should be implemented by the end of March next year at the latest.
Before the Corona crisis, Fiat Chrysler and PSA together sold around 8.7 million vehicles a year and had a turnover of 170,000 million euros. Only Volkswagen, Toyota and the Franco-Japanese Renault-Nissan network were bigger in 2019.
The future group will be called “Stellantis”, derived from the Latin word for star (“Stella”). Individual brands such as Opel, Peugeot, Citroën, Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Abarth or Dodge should continue to exist.
EU competition authorities launched an in-depth review of the merger in mid-July because they feared that the planned merger could restrict competition in the market for light commercial vehicles with a total weight of up to 3.5 tonnes. In many countries, PSA or FCA is the market leader for light commercial vehicles, and the merger would mean that one of the most important competitors would be eliminated there.
Now companies have essentially two promises to keep. On the one hand, the existing cooperation between PSA and Toyota will be expanded, according to which PSA manufactures light commercial vehicles for Toyota for sale in the EU. On the other hand, the repair and maintenance contracts of PSA and FCA with their workshops will be modified. For example, it should no longer be prescribed that there be reception or waiting areas reserved for FCA / PSA commercial vehicles. The use of tools from the two manufacturers should also be allowed for the repair of light commercial vehicles of other brands.
