The Italian-Canadian manager Sergio Marchionne , who created what is now Fiat Chrysler , used to say that in order for a car company to survive in today's world, it will need to have a production of 8 million units per year. Only then, he said, would a company have the muscle to develop electric and autonomous cars, compete in all markets in the world - from those in the West, supersaturated, to those in the emerging economies of Asia and Africa -, and resist the competition of the giants Chinese, like SAIC and Geely , who are entering the sector.

Marchionne died in July 2018. But his message seems to have been assumed by the sector. The company he directed, the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler (FCA), is negotiating with the French company PSA (manufacturer of, among others, Citroën, Peugeot, Opel, and Vauxhall) a merger to give rise to what would be the third largest manufacturer of cars of the world. The two companies produced last year in total more than 8.9 million units per year, only behind Japan's Toyota and Germany 's Volkswagen.

The news, which has been unveiled by the American Wall Street Journal, confirms the wave of merger and acquisition attempts in the motor world. In June, Fiat Chrysler abandoned its plans to merge with the French Renault due to opposition from the Government of Emmanuel Macron, which controls 15% of the gala company. Renault , in fact, is part of an alliance with the Japanese Nissan, in which it has a shareholding control package.

The conversations are advanced. But that does not mean that an agreement has been reached, or that this will be a complete merger of both companies. FCA and PSA are considering a union between equals, in which the top managers of each of the companies would maintain their position in the resulting group. Thus, the chairman would be the person who currently holds that position in Chrysler Fiat, John Elkann, grandson of the legendary Gianni Agnelli, who led the company for four decades. The CEO would be Renault, the Portuguese Carlos Tavares.

If the merger takes place, it will have consequences in Spain. PSA is the largest car manufacturer in the country, with nearly one million units manufactured in three factories: Vigo, Madrid, and Zaragoza . In total, 32.5% of the cars produced in Spain are from this company, as are 21.5% of those sold, according to the company's own data. Fiat does not have factories in Spain, but it is possible that in the event that the operation forges, there are redundancies and production is affected.

The two companies are publicly traded, but it has a strong family component. 22% of the capital of FCA is in the hands of the Agnelli, a family that has historically been attributed immense economic and political power in Italy. For its part, PSA is the creature of the Peugeot, who control 14% of the company, and whose business career began in 1810, during the Napoleon era, with coffee. 209 years have passed, but the president of the PSA board of directors is still Thierry Peugeot .

The value of CFA in the New York Stock Exchange is 19,800 million euros (22,000 million dollars), while that of PSA, which is listed in Paris, is 23,000 million dollars. The titles of Fiat Chrysler and PSA rose, respectively, 7.4% and 6% after hearing the news. PSA has risen by 38% since January, while FCA has barely done so by 1%, which partly reflects the doubts of investors after the disappearance of Marccione, who was the one who transformed the old Fiat, which had become about to be acquired by General Motors, in a new global giant with the purchase of the American Chrysler, then in suspension of payments, in 2009. In return, the new Fiat Chrysler lost much of its Italian character, as it passed to be a company based in Amsterdam , for tax reasons, and focused on the US market. Marchionne also segregated the crown jewel of the company, Ferrari, and got rid of the van and truck manufacturer CNH, which has factories in Madrid and Valladolid.

PSA also has its share of acquisitions of US companies. In 1978 he acquired the European division of Chrysler for the symbolic price of one dollar, and in 2017 Opel and Vauxhall , the European brands of what was once the largest automobile company in the world, General Motors . Just 5 years ago, PSA was rescued by the French government and the Chinese Dongfeng, who each took 14% of their shares. The company plans to enter the US in 2020, a market that is totally absent except for the car rental company Free2Move.

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