![\"Peugeot](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/01\/12\/PDTN\/f7da4d1a-eb0a-4825-b47a-eed8ff25e063-Peugeot_508-midsize-wagon.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nThis weekend, the trans-Atlantic merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Groupe PSA of France\u00a0will cement an industry-leading 14 brands under one roof, eclipsing Volkswagen AG\u2019s 12.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t expect to see a Peugeot 5008 or Citro\u00ebn\u00a0C4 in American showrooms anytime soon. Or Ram pickup trucks and Dodge Hellcats prowling the streets of Paris.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Peugeot 580 Tibo<\/p>\n
Industry analysts say the merger will continue to accelerate the globalization of Jeep, which FCA has transformed into one of the world\u2019s most recognizable SUV brands. But otherwise, the merger positions Stellantis to have strong product lineups on two continents \u2014\u00a0with potential for growth on a third, China.<\/p>\n
Engineering teams can then take advantage of a bigger toolbox to share vehicle platforms and components\u00a0\u2014\u00a0especially electrification at a time when governments are mandating vehicle powertrains.<\/p>\n
Translation: you may never see that Peugeot in the U.S.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0but you might see its chassis and electric motors underpinning a new Dodge SUV.<\/p>\n
That stands in contrast to FCA\u2019s 2009 merger \u2014\u00a0rushed on a political timeline as the Obama administration chaperoned the marriage of Italy\u2019s Fiat SpA and Auburn Hills-based Chrysler Group amid the global financial meltdown. Shaped by Washington predictions of an industry shift to small, high-mpg small sedans, Fiat introduced a lineup of wee cars and crossovers that struggled to gain traction in a U.S. market that accelerated in the opposite direction: towards bigger SUVs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Washington narrative was that Detroit didn\u2019t know how to make small cars,\u201d IHS Markit senior auto analyst Stephanie Brinley said in an interview. \u201cTime was critically important because Fiat had to meet so many requirements in order to buy Chrysler out of bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chief among those promises was that Fiat had to help Chrysler produce a 40-mpg car. The result was the sippy Dodge Dart sedan which rotted on dealer lots. The 30 mpg Fiat 500 suffered the same fate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe PSA-FCA merger is different,\u201d smiles Brinley.\u00a0She says it\u2019s significant that the amorphous Stellantis name has been picked \u2014 a moniker untethered to any one brand. \u201cThey chose a name with the premise that this is a new, global company.\u201d<\/p>\n A PSA Group spokesperson says that the company has not issued any plans for product synergies. While Peugot has had eyes on the U.S. market, analysts agree Stellantis is unlikely to follow in Fiat\u2019s footsteps. Instead of trying to introduce Americans to a French brand, Stellantis is more likely to shore up existing products like Dodge and Chrysler.<\/p>\n \u201cPrior to Stellantis, PSA was looking to bring a brand here, probably Peugeot,\u201d said Autopacific analyst\u00a0Ed Kim. \u201cBut with the merger there will be less pressure to bring brands to the U.S.\u201d Instead, they might use Peugeot platforms to expand the Chrysler brand which has been starved for attention here.\u201d<\/p>\n Veteran industry watcher John McElroy of Autoline agrees:\u00a0\u201cI think PSA would be mad to try and launch either of the Peugeot and Citro\u00ebn brands in the U.S. market. It would cost them a fortune to even teach Americans how to pronounce the names,\u201d he said in an interview. Steallantis CEO\u00a0\u201cCarlos Tavares would be better off rebuilding the Chrysler and Dodge brands using Peugeot\/Citro\u00ebn\u00a0cars and CUVs. The franchises already exist and customers wouldn\u2019t even know that they were simply rebadged vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim speculates that Peugeot platforms for its 508 sedan and 5008 might ultimately benefit Chrysler if the Detroit brand wants to expand. \u201cCitro\u00ebn\u00a0is a little out there for mainstream U.S. consumers, but Peugeot is basically saleable here as an upscale chassis like Acura or Buick.\u201d<\/p>\n Not that Stellantis doesn\u2019t have some serious trans-national ambitions. Even before the merger, PSA and FCA have partnered on commercial vans. The Ram ProMaster shares its chassis with Peugeot Boxer and Citro\u00ebn\u00a0Jumper full-size vans.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Jeep, the money-making heart of Fiat Chrysler.<\/p>\n A brand synonymous with SUVs, it has already taken root in Europe, which has embraced high-riding utility like their Yankee cousins. But given Europe\u2019s lofty fuel prices and heavy taxation, the best-selling Jeeps in the U.S. \u2014\u00a0Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Cherokee \u2014\u00a0are of little interest. Instead, subcompact Compass and Renegade SUVs are in vogue, sold with sippy diesel and 3-cylinder engines not found here.<\/p>\n The best-selling Peugeots and Citro\u00ebns\u00a0overseas are also wee crossovers with little future in the US market. They\u2019ve created synergies with Opel \u2014\u00a0General Motors Co.’s\u00a0ex-German brand that PSA Group acquired in 2017. Kim says that the Opel Grandland and Peugeot 3008 share a platform. As do the Opel Mokka, Citro\u00ebn\u00a0DS 3 Crossback, and Peugeot 2008.<\/p>\n Opel is a cautionary tale when it comes to bringing European platforms across the pond. Under GM\u2019s watch, Opel cars were rebadged as Cadillacs (the 1982-88 Cimarron) and Buicks (the 2018-2020 Regal Sportback and TourX wagon) with poor results.<\/p>\n So is FCA\u2019s struggle to grow legendary names like Alfa Romeo and Maserati in the U.S. luxury market. PSA brings little to the bling ball except Citro\u00ebn’s small DS luxury division.<\/p>\n Rather than rebadging autos, Stellantis is more likely to share technologies with the U.S. market. Nearly every major market now has government regulations mandating the phase-out of gas engines.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest opportunity is for PSA to share its electrification technology,\u201d said Kim. \u201cThey have been forward thinking in Europe on EVs, while FCA has been content to follow in the U.S. market.\u201d<\/p>\n With Jeep getting into plug-ins with the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe, industry experts say cooperation with its European partners makes a lot of sense. Peugeot currently offers a hatchback 2008 (similar in size to the Chevy Bolt EV) while Citro\u00ebn\u00a0boasts a compact, battery-powered e-C4 crossover.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear, however, how PSA\u2019s green tech would help North American-specific brands like Ram or Dodge \u2014\u00a0two nameplates that prioritize power rather than efficiency prized in Europe. Dodge told The Detroit News this year that it is working on EVs with performance to rival its fire-breathing V-8 models.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Dodge brand is a little anachronistic,\u201d says Kim. \u201cV-8 power gives the brand a ton of attention. But it\u2019s not a brand position they can rely on forever. There\u2019s a lot of opportunity to apply electrification to Dodge brand for performance. That\u2019s something that PSA might be able to help with.\u201d<\/p>\n With the next generation of Dodge cars planned to stay on its North American platform, however, such synergies are a ways away. Analysts expect Stellantis will initially focus on volume models and common platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cStallantis is a new company and I hope that it looks at it that way,\u201d says IHS\u2019s Brinley. \u201cThey have time to generate a cohesive product strategy. They need to execute a vision with the brands they have.\u201d<\/p>\n She points to VW as a company that has successfully integrated multiple brands, from mainstream VW to premium Audi to Porsche and Lamborghini supercars.<\/p>\n \u201cVW Group has done it well,\u201d says Brinley. \u201cAll the brands work together, making it easy for consumers to move between the brands.\u201d<\/p>\n This weekend, the trans-Atlantic merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Groupe PSA of France\u00a0will cement an industry-leading 14 brands under one roof, eclipsing Volkswagen AG\u2019s 12. But don\u2019t expect to see a Peugeot 5008 or Citro\u00ebn\u00a0C4 in American showrooms anytime soon. Or Ram pickup trucks and Dodge Hellcats prowling the streets of Paris. Peugeot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26654"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26654"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26656,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26654\/revisions\/26656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Opel](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/01\/12\/PDTN\/9905c16e-c1a1-4868-86bb-4f53fe896531-Opel-Vauxhall_Vivaro-van.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/01\/12\/PDTN\/c6bad7b1-5fd9-4edb-817d-fc72166b28ad-Citroen_Jumper-commercial-van.jpg?width=660&height=260&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![\"Pole](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/01\/12\/PDTN\/fdf1e64f-aff6-420e-be18-701a41e557c6-Opel-Vauxhall_Grandland.jpg?width=660&height=441&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![\"www.matthowell.co.uk](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/01\/12\/PDTN\/55917007-08dc-4613-817d-5c235e9e0189-Opel-Vauxhall_Insignia-Buick-Regal.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![\"Peugot](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/01\/12\/PDTN\/9f02d4e9-f0a0-486d-bf00-28c7a2756ca6-Peugeot_2008-suv.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"