An employee of Fiat Chrysler’s Windsor assembly plant is working inside the chassis of the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid in December 2016.
Fiat Chrysler
Shareholders of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and French PSA Groupe on Monday approved a merger plan to create Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest automobile group.
The vote was one of the final steps for the merger, which companies hope to close on Jan. 16, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, who will lead the combined company, said the deal has removed all regulatory hurdles. .
Stellantis common shares will begin trading on the Mercato Telematico Azionario in Milan and Euronext in Paris on January 18, followed by the New York Stock Exchange on January 19.
“We are ready. We are ready for this merger. We are ready for this value creation,” Tavares said during a virtual shareholder meeting Monday. He described this as a “historic moment” for the company.
The merger is expected to contribute about 5 billion euros, or 6.1 billion dollars, in annual cost savings, according to officials. The carmaker’s operations will be largely done in North America and Europe. Stellantis will include 14 car brands, from Maserati, Jeep and Ram from Fiat Chrysler to Peugeot, Citroen and Opel from PSA.
Plans for the merger were initially confirmed by companies in late 2019. Fiat Chrysler, the world’s seventh-largest automaker, had been looking for a link to scale up and consolidate costs for several years.