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