Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 on the basis of a 50–50 cross-border merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group.[9][10][11] The company is headquartered in Amsterdam.
In terms of global vehicle sales in 2021, Stellantis was the world’s fifth largest automaker behind Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and General Motors.[12]
The primary listings for the company’s stock are on Milan’s Borsa Italiana and on Euronext Paris.[13]
The principal activity of Stellantis is the design, development, manufacture and sale of automobiles bearing its 16 brands of Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Mopar, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall. At the time of the merger, Stellantis had approximately 300,000 employees, a presence in more than 130 countries with manufacturing facilities in 30 countries.[14]
History
In early 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sought a merger with French automaker Renault and reached a provisional agreement with the company.[18] However, the behaviour of the French government during negotiations led to the abandonment of the deal; The Economist reported that “for FCA this portended future interference”.[19] Nissan also had various concerns of the impact of the proposal on its alliance with Renault.[19]
Subsequently, FCA approached Peugeot S.A. (PSA). The merger, officially agreed in December 2019, was to create the world’s fourth-largest carmaker by global vehicle sales with expected annual cost savings of €3.7 billion, or approximately $4.22 billion.[11]
On 21 December 2020, the European Commission announced its approval of the merger, while imposing minimal remedies to ensure competition in the sector.[20]
The merger was approved on 4 January 2021 by the shareholders of both FCA and PSA and the deal completed on 16 January 2021. Common shares of the new company began trading on the Milan Stock Exchange (MTA) and Euronext Paris on 18 January 2021 and on the New York Stock Exchange on 19 January 2021, in each case under the ticker symbol “STLA”.[21][22][23]
PSA merged with and into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. as the surviving company in the merger. On 17 January 2021, the combined company was renamed Stellantis N.V.[24] International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, mandate the identification of the company acting as the acquirer and the company being acquired; Peugeot is considered the acquirer for accounting purposes, and statements reflect PSA’s historical records.[25] The filing notes the Stellantis board will have 11 directors, six from PSA and five from Fiat Chrysler. Additionally, the new company’s first CEO, who is vested with the full authority to individually represent Stellantis, is Carlos Tavares, the former president of the PSA managing board as well as former CEO of PSA Group. He will also have a five-year term as Stellantis CEO. PSA shareholders have also paid a pre-merger premium to FCA shareholders. However, Exor, the Agnelli family company that was the largest shareholder of FCA, will hold the largest stake in Stellantis with 14.4 percent.[26] The merger agreements allow the Peugeot family to further increase its current 7.2% stake in Stellantis by up to an additional 1.5% by acquiring shares from France’s state lender Bpifrance, from Dongfeng or on the market.[27]
The name Stellantis is exclusively used to identify the corporate entity, while group brand names and logos remain unchanged.[11]
In 2021 CEO Carlos Tavares issued a challenge for the group’s brands to prove themselves within a 10-year window, in exchange for much-needed investment in new models and technology.[28][29][30][31]
The group plans to have 29 electrified vehicle models available by the end of 2021.[32] There are four EV platforms planned to be developed by the end of the 2020s.[33][34] Overall, the company announced more than €30bn will be invested by the end of 2021.[35] A network of charging stations started in November 2021.[36]
On 7 December 2021, Stellantis announced that sales of new vehicles in the third quarter of 2021 dropped due to issues related to the supply chain shortage of semiconductor chips used in their vehicles. CEO Tavares also announced an agreement with semiconductor manufacturer Foxconn to supply chips for the company and others in the automotive industry. The number of semiconductors contained in an automobile is in the thousands and this number is expected to increase in the foreseeable future.[37] In June 2022 the company paused production at two French plants due to shortages in semiconductors.[38]
In May 2022, Stellantis agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and pay $300 million to settle a probe into its effort to illegally conceal the amount of pollution created by its diesel engine vehicles. The parent company of Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge will settle a years-long probe by the United States Department of Justice into the auto maker’s efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older models.[39]
On 3 May 2022, the acquisition of the carsharing platform Share Now was announced.[40][41] The acquisition was closed on 18 July 2022 and Stellantis placed Share Now’s operational management under Free2Move.[42]
In November 2022, it was announced Stellantis had acquired the Budapest-headquartered autonomous vehicle technology company, aiMotive.[43]