Stellantis, a group born following the merger FCA – Fiat Chr ysler Automobiles and PSA Group. 99% of the shareholders voted in favour of the merger, and since January 2021, Stellantis has become a reality.

We are theoretically talking about the world’s fourth-lar­gest auto group, or at least this is what the data related to this year’s be­ginning show, where Volkswagen Group is on top position, followed by Toyota and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Stellantis managed to come ahead of the Korean Group Hyundai-Kia, accor­ding to the number of sold vehicles.

Was this an inspired merger, sugges­ted by the difficulties that the two groups were going through? This could be a potential discussion topic. Let’s not forget that FCA courted initially Groupe Renault, but the whims and the red tape of one of the sharehol­ders, more precisely the French State… determined the Italians to abandon the cause.

Carlos Tavares – Stellantis’ CEO has alrea­dy announced that Lancia is going to have a secure future in the new group, which certainly makes a lot of this au­tomobile’s fans happy, but there are also certain details which will be quite a challenge for the new group, China be­ing such an example.

Wishing to be in the Top 5 auto groups worldwide and not having a strong pre­sence in China… is easily an unimagina­ble situation. And China is right now the Stellantis’ weak link. Despite the conti­nuous efforts of both groups (FCA and PSA) to become a stable and worthy of note presence in China, such it has ne­ver happened. Somehow, the inability to become noticeable on the Chinese market was also confirmed by the dis­solution in January 2020 of the joint venture between PSA and Changan. And the opportunities to enter the Chinese market shrink by the day. The reason? Automobiles produced by lo­cal manufacturer massively recover the technical gap differentiating them from the European or American models. If se­parately the two groups failed, they’ve still got a chance under the Stellantis umbrella, but they do have to carefully calculate their steps.

Stellantis is not short of production ca­pacity, one of their undertakings when forming the alliance was to keep all pro­duction units open. Nevertheless, the future of some of them, as Ellesmere Port from England, it not a sure thing.

FCA – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, a group with plenty of charisma, evident just by counting the brands forming it – Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Mopar, RAM.

Jeep

The healthiest of FCA’s brands and of the new alliance as well, Jeep has managed the feat of escaping US and becoming appealing along with the compact and affor­dable models. It has achieved to keep its image, and not diluting it when launching models such as Compass and Renegade. It has also managed to introduce electrifica­tion in its range, even the legendary Wrangler has got a plug-in hybrid version. And the new Grand Wagoneer allows the legendary American brand to tackle territories until now reserved only to premium manufacturers.

Dodge

Has succeeded over time to identify itself as a brand, along with the high-perfor­mance models, more pre­cisely with the concept of muscle car. The high degree of popularity gained among the audience is also driven by the fact that we are no lon­ger talking about extremely powerful models with a rudi­mentary handling, but about the real supercars that dress up like sedans or SUVs.

Nonetheless, we are talking about a brand that has an ex­tremely small range of models – Charger, Challenger and Durango – if we are to count the relatively new models. The current generations Journey and Grand Caravan were launched in 2008-2009. A challenge for the new alliance is developing new models, diversifying the range, analy­sing the degree to which Dodge models could be im­plemented on other markets as well, besides the North- American soil. A supercharged V8 model that develops 700 horsepower has the look of a super-hero, but not a super-hero who befriends the emissions level standards.

RAM

Initially a model from Dodge range, RAM Truck be­came a brand in 2010. It is one of the pillars of the trucks’ American culture, classifying among the heal­thy brands of FCA portfolio. It has integrated in its range two models from Fiat Professional – Doblo and Ducato.

Chrysler

Carlos Tavares – Stellantis’ CEO confirmed that the American brand has a secure future, suggesting even that it could be the alliance’s technological storefront. But to reach that point, there is a lot to be invested in Chrysler, currently the range comprising only two models – Pacifica/ Voyager and the old 300.

Alfa Romeo

It’s off to a new start. Giulia and Stelvio were the first steps, two models allowing the Italian manufacturer to come with an alternative to the German trifecta Audi-BMW-Mercedes-Benz, but these models cover only one segment. The production version of the Tonale concept – a compact SUV – is expected to debut this year. Subsequently, by 2023, a new small class SUV is expected to be built on the platform CMP EMP1 developed by PSA. When PSA bought Opel and Vauxhall from GM, Corsa was already rea­dy. PSA had two options, either to pay for the new model, or to develop a new generation from scratch. It chose the second, and in two years it has succe­eded the feat to develop a new model on its own platform. Alfa Romeo will cer­tainly benefit from this talent, that is why the apparition of new B and C segments models should not come as a surprise for the public.

Maserati

We could say is the crown jewel, but for the moment a quite expensive one. In 2019, Maserati registered operational los­ses of € 200 million when it sold worldwide 26,500 models. Maserati has embarkedon a programme that in five years has the mission to drive the Italian brand to annual sales of 75,000 models and a net profit margin of approximately 15%. This plan de­buted with the launch of a new model – Maserati MC20. The new alliance will grant a special attention to the Italian brand, being its only luxury brand.

Lancia together with DS and Alfa Romeo

Lancia’s last past years were synonymous with Ypsilon, a model laun­ched in 2011, built on the same platform as Fiat 500 and which in its 10 years of existence received two facelifts. But Italians love so much this brand that Ypsilon ranked in the second position in Italy in the top of best sold models. Some rumours associated the appearance of Lancia Stratos, during Carlos Tavares’ conference, with a “sporty” future for the Italian brand. We dare bet on a premium with a touch of luxury future, a going back to the origins, the Italian brand being at its debut a luxury brand.

Fiat

Fiat had two rebirths, one in 1957, and another in 2007. And both of them have Fiat 500 in common. Fiat’s third rebirth started last year… with Fiat 500 still, but this time an electric 500. What will follow is difficult to envisage. Fiat has a solid position in South America, an extremely valuable point for the alli­ance, but in Europe, its position is get­ting weaker. Will Fiat remain a popular brand? The alliance needs a competitor for Dacia, could this Fiat be this competitor, or another brand from its portfolio?

Fiat Professional

FCA and PSA have a long collaboration on the segment of light commercial vehicles, a collaboration that started in 1981 with the launch of the first Fiat Ducato / Peugeot J5 / Citroen C25 generation. Today, the collaboration reached its third generati­on Ducato/ Boxer/ Jumper. It re­mains for the Doblo to adopt the platform on which the Partner/ Expert family is built.

Abarth

A brand whose future is difficult to assess. Theoretically, its ran­ge of products includes the sport version of Fiat models. In its favour, we can check the solid fans’ base, the fact that Fiat has a new 500 in its yard…

 

PSA Group puts in Stellantis quiver five brands – Peugeot, DS, Citroen, Opel and Vauxhall. Except for DS, in which the French Group invested a lot for its launch, the biggest challenge is to find a distinct trajectory for the rest of the brands with similar products and aiming the same clients’ category.

Peugeot

The group’s strong link, is the alliance’s second best sold brand, after Jeep. There were speculations about the introduction of the French brand on the American market, but these plans were abandoned, focussing on consolidating the presence of Alfa Romeo over the ocean. It is very likely that Peugeot will offer borderline premium products.

Citroen

More and more clues suggest that Citroen is going to become a low-cost brand, a potential competitor for Dacia. But in the case of the local brand, the communicati­on migrated towards smart-buy. The plans to come on strong onto the Indian mar­ket, where the alliance wishes to manufacture models, or the launch of an Ami… so­mething that reminds of the introduction of 2CV in 1947… suggests this intention.

Opel/Vauxhall

If Peugeot comes close to the premium area, without crossing this segment’s border though, because that way it will compete with DS, and Citroen migrates towards low-cost, Opel maintains its position.

DS

A particle that created over time incredible models, DS 19 / 21 / 23, then, and on an epic trend, it came to develop an equipment level of certain Citroen models. Today we’ve got DS Automobiles – a premium brand. It is easy to say a brand is premium, but it needs also to be confirmed by a superior quality of manufacturing, the materials’ quality and a superior technique… and above all the premium status must be confirmed by the market. This is going to be DS Automobiles’ test.

 

Will Stellantis succeed? Prospects are positive. Plenty of production units, platforms and technology allowing massive cost reduction, should new models be deve­loped. Healthy presence on most markets, except for China…

 

Constantin Ciobanu