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Following reports from France that the merger between PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could be upended by the coronavirus, PSA announced that the media got this one all wrong. While the French automaker admitted that economic problems stemming from the outbreak are indeed concerning, it reiterated its commitment to safeguarding employment while adding that a merger makes even more sense now than before.

Still, there are valid reasons to question the current state of the merger agreement established in December via a memorandum of understanding. COVID-19 has sent global markets into a tailspin, with PSA and FCA seeing their share prices seesawing in the wrong direction over the last two weeks.

Given the size and modest specs of Citroën’s Ami city car, you’d think post-war rationing was still a thing in France.

The Ami, revealed Thursday, is a production version of the Ami One concept PSA Group debuted at last year’s Geneva Motor Show. It’s small, short, looks the same coming as it does going, and doesn’t require a driver’s license. It could be a ticket to freedom for a 14-year-old, but first they’ll have to get used to living life at no more than 28 mph.

The FCA-PSA merger is progressing nicely. According to Fiat Chrysler CEO Michael Manley, the joint timeline established last month is totally feasible. Both companies hoped to get this settled before 2022; Manley now believes everything could be settled within the next 12 to 14 months.

The manufacturers have inked a binding agreement — worth an estimated $50 billion — to collaboratively prepare themselves to fend against slowing global demand and the unpleasantly high cost of developing greener vehicles to appease regional emission laws. They’re also attempting to establish an effective comprehensive strategy for the numerous auto brands involved in the deal. While we speculated about Chrysler’s future yesterday, over a dozen other marques that cater to fairly specific customer groups also need to be considered.

Chrysler has certainly changed since emerging from the ashes of the Maxwell Motor Company in 1925, spending the better part of the 20th century purveying all manner of car to the American public. The current century has seen the company merge with Daimler, followed by Fiat. Now it’s cozying up to PSA Group, leaving many to wonder what purpose Chrysler serves beyond being the corporate namesake.

Officially, the merger isn’t supposed to impact any FCA or PSA brands. But the Chrysler brand isn’t exactly a model of industrial health. Its current lineup consists of four vehicles, one of which (Voyager) is just the lower-trim version of the non-hybrid Pacifica. The minivan sales are enviable, comprising over half of all vehicles sold within the segment for the United States last year — if you incorporate the Dodge Caravan — but Chrysler’s overall trajectory leaves much to be desired.

In the binding merger agreement signed Wednesday, Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group claim platform and technology sharing will account for 40 percent of the combined entity’s annual cost savings.

While the agreement made passing mention of two pieces of PSA architecture — platforms that will one day make up a full two-thirds of the merged company’s volume — nothing more was said of that particular plan. Still, it’s something worth talking about.

Regulatory and shareholder approvals will take some time, but the pending merger between Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group is now chiseled in stone. The two automakers signed a binding combination agreement on Wednesday, positioning their respective companies for a 50:50 tie-up and the creation of the world’s third-largest automaker (by revenue).

Going by sales would make it the fourth-largest.

The move comes after the French government, which owns 12 percent of PSA, gave the deal ther green light, with the Peugeot family offering its own thumbs-up.

Italian-American auto giant Fiat Chrysler and French automaker PSA Group could sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday, if reports out of Europe prove true.

The two automakers embarked down the road to a 50:50 tie-up in October, with both partners aiming for an MoU before the end of the calendar year. This most recent report comes on the heels of various thumbs-up given by key players in the pending marriage.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA both confirmed their intention to merge on Thursday, verifying reports that the pair were in the final stages of approving the deal. The arrangement will be a 50-50 share swap, with the new company’s shares listed on the New York, Paris and Milan stock exchanges.

The duo hope to finalize a deal in the coming weeks to create a group with 8.7 million in annual vehicle sales. That would make it the fourth-largest automaker in the world — behind Volkswagen, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.

“There is still plenty of work to do before we reach a formal agreement, but what’s clear is that the opportunity that represents for both companies is very compelling,” FCA head Mike Manley told Reuters. It would appear the arrangement is getting plenty of support. French and Italian leadership have both endorsed the move, provided there are no significant job losses in either country.

On Tuesday, we published a piece examining the possibility of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merging with France’s Groupe PSA. Considering the how often FCA is in merger discussions, we treated it as little more than a well-founded rumor worth monitoring. But additional reports have come through suggesting that the deal has already been approved.

According to The Wall Street Journal, sources with first-hand knowledge have confirmed the companies are already moving forward on the union — effectively creating the world’s fourth largest automaker by volume.

It’s almost like celebrity gossip these days. Except instead of trying to see who’s seated next to Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez at a swank joint on the Sunset Strip, we’re looking to see who’s chatting up Fiat Chrysler at the party.

The Wall St. Journal is reporting that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group of France are in talks to merge.

There’s always that one guy who says, “If you ever getting around to selling that thing, call me first.” Usually, this statement is directed at a classic car that spends more time collecting dust than miles. In PSA Group’s case, the message involves another automaker.

The French automaker, which hit Geneva last month looking for love, apparently has an interest in the struggling Jaguar Land Rover.

Like characters on a long-running TV show, PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler remain the topic of intense speculation as to when they’ll hook up. There’s been romance in the past, including that time in 2007 when they spent the night and walked away with a series of jointly-developed small vans. The children’s names were Peugeot Bipper, Citroen Nemo and Fiat Fiorino. Only the latter survives to this day.

In the large van segment, FCA builds the Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, and Citroen Jumper at its Italian Sevel Sud plant, with production recently extended through 2023. Thanks to PSA’s acquisition of GM’s European operations, Opel and Vauxhall-badged vans will soon roll from the FCA factory.

As rumors of a kiboshed merger deal swirl (FCA’s controlling family reportedly didn’t approve of the marriage), a new report claims there’s another limited partnership in the works.

Recent speculation of a potential merger, partnership, or alliance between France’s PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler might be pointless, as the offer has already occured, a report in the Wall Street Journal suggests.

Sources familiar with the matter claim PSA approached the Italian-American auto giant earlier this year in the interest of merging the two companies. Apparently, it wasn’t the first time PSA called up FCA for a hookup. The answer was the same.

The German automaker that cranks out Buick Regals and, until this summer, Buick Cascadas for American consumers is suddenly flying high, distancing itself from its money pit days under former parent General Motors.

After trying and failing to return the Opel (and sister brand Vauxhall) to profitability, GM offloaded the automaker to the French in August, 2017. In cutting its losses, Opel’s former parent put the brand’s future in the hands of PSA’s shrewd CEO, Carlos Tavares, who then enacted the same cost-cutting turnaround plan he performed on his own company. The financial about-face was a quick one.

Ford and Volkswagen cosied up last year, cementing their relationship in an automotive alliance announced earlier this year, but could the same thing happen with Fiat Chrysler and France’s resurgent PSA Group?

PSA, which plans to sell Peugeots in North America by 2026, is reportedly hunting for a partner, and FCA Mike Manley isn’t ruling out the possibility.