FCA-Groupe PSA officially begin operations as Stellantis

FCA and Groupe PSA have officially begun functions under Stellantis, the Dutch-based entity formed after the merger of the two carmakers. Stellantis is the world's fourth-largest carmaker after the Volkswagen Group, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, valued at USD 52 billion.

Stellantis says that it begins operations on a strong financial footing, which the synergies coming put of the merger will strengthen further. The group estimates that there will be annual savings of up to USD 5 billion through the implementation of smart purchasing and investment strategies, optimizing powertrain and platform utilization, applying cutting-edge R&D and a continuous focus on manufacturing and tooling efficiencies. These do not take into account any plant closures.

Led by FCA's John Elkann as Chairman and Groupe PSA's Carlos Tavares as Charmain, Stellantis has set up an extensive top management structure that involves nine committees tasked with the company's performance and strategy, planning, regions, manufacturing, brand and styling. Stellantis currently employs over 4 lakh people globally. The company has a presence in 130 countries with manufacturing facilities in 30. The firm has strong presence in the Europe, North America and Latin America and hopes to tap potential in China, Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and India, where both FCA and Groupe PSA have seen limited success.

Of the wide arrays of brands the two firms bring to Stellantis, Jeep will be the core SUV brand while Chrysler, Dodge and Ram will be focused on the American markets. The mainstream sector will be handled by Citroen, Fiat and Abarth, while Opel, Vauxhall and Peugeot bridge the gap between these and the Alfa Romeo, DS and Lancia premium brands. Maserati is being positioned as a contender in the luxury market. The shared mobility and leasing market will be serviced by Free2Move and Leasys. As for the critical EV segment, Stellantis says it already has 29 electrified models on sale with 10 more to be added by the end of 2021. Other focus areas are connectivity, autonomous driving and shared ownership. It is also working towards achieving carbon neutrality across all products, assembly plants and other facilities in the long-term.

In India's case, Stellantis already has a presence through the Jeep and Fiat brands, with PSA Group's Citroen making its debut next month. With powertrains, platforms and know-how being shared across the group, we should see some activity from both brands in mainstream, high-volume segments.