What Is Stellantis? Just a Massive Italian-American-French Automaker

The coming year is expected to be the first of many for a new group created through the imminent merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group. As the process to blend the two automakers continues, the two partners have revealed what their combined operation will be called.

Stellantis.

Via a joint press release, the two automakers revealed the group’s corporate name on Wednesday, detailing the name’s Latin roots in a word meaning “to brighten with stars.”

In this constellation, the big stars are Jeep, Ram, Citroën, and Peugeot, along with a slew of other brands. Those brand names will not change. As for Stellantis, which sounds like an overseas-market Kia model or perhaps a spaceship in an early 1990s TV show, the group’s name will appear in a somewhat futuristic script. The “A” is missing its crossbar.

Fans of long sentences will be pleased to read that Stellantis “draws inspiration from this new and ambitious alignment of storied automotive brands and strong company cultures that in coming together are creating one of the new leaders in the next era of mobility while at the same time preserving all the exceptional value and the values of its constituent parts.”

Take a breath now.

Ahead of the expected completion of the merger in the first quarter of 2021, FCA/PSA (Stellantis) said, “The next step in the process will be the unveiling of a logo that with the name will become the corporate brand identity.”

The merger also needs the approval of both automakers’ shareholders and various regulators before FCA and PSA can embark on their honeymoon. European Union antitrust overseers remain concerned that the two companies might have too much of the commercial van market, but any rulings on that front have yet to materialize.

Once finished, the 50:50, $50 billion merger would create one of the world’s largest automakers (third or fourth, depending on how you measure it), with the combined entities aiming to save more than $4 billion per year through shared platforms, technology, and supply streams, among other efficiencies. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares would lead Stellantis, with FCA Chairman John Elkann remaining in his current role.

The two companies signed a binding agreement in December of last year.

[Image: Matthew Guy/TTAC]