Home

News

Corporate / Financial

FCA-PSA: How Might This Merger Impact EVs And PHEVs?

Perhaps it was not a coincidence they chose Halloween to announce the alliance.

FCA-PSA: What Is In There For EVs And PHEVs?

Gustavo Henrique Ruffo

By: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo

Oct 31, 2019 at 9:15am ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

FCA and PSA probably have not considered they chose Halloween to announce they would form an alliance. It is a relevant fact, at least for the “C” in FCA, or the Chrysler part of the family, which is American.

Anyway, the executives are probably not superstitious. What does not change the fact that many people think there are haunting aspects of the merger. Especially the ones that want to see more EVs and PHEVs coming out of this business move. But do they have any reason to believe that?

Gallery: What Will The FCA-PSA Merger Bring In Terms Of EVs And PHEVs?

FCA-PSA: What Is In There For EVs And PHEVs?

PSA is a sphinx in this regard. After having developed the eCMP platform with Dongfeng, its electric and connected boss Helen Lees told Autocar electric cars “threaten the car industry as we know it.” And that is not a first.

FCA-PSA: What Is In There For EVs And PHEVs?

Carlos Tavares, who will be the CEO of the new alliance, is a fierce critic of electric cars. He has recently told Driving.co.uk he will not pay for charging infrastructure. He said that if politicians are pushing zero-emission mobility, they should have governments pay for that.

More Corporate News Involving EVs:

Tesla's Q3 2019 Surprise Could Lead To Q4 Win

That does not end there. In 2017, he told “The Telegraph” electrification puts the car industry at risk. He also said that any safety or health issues linked to electric cars will be in the hands of the same governments that now push for EVs.

FCA-PSA: What Is In There For EVs And PHEVs?

Despite having presented the Opel Corsa-e, the Peugeot e-208, and the e-2008 – all built over the eCMP platform – it seems the company has done so reluctantly. In that sense, it is way ahead of FCA.

jeep-wrangler-phev-spy-photos (1)

Apart from the Fiat 500e, there is no pure EV in the FCA lineup. There are talks of a Wrangler PHEV, a China-only Jeep Commander, and the first PHEV Alfa Romeo, the Tonale. But they are for a relatively distant future. The closest promises are the Compass PHEV and the Renegade PHEV, which could arrive in 2020.

FCA-PSA: What Is In There For EVs And PHEVs?

FCA had many plans – such as the Maserati Alfieri – but very little delivery regarding electrification. Ironically, if there is anyone able to help the other part in this alliance regarding EVs is the part that did not even want to sell them in the first place.

FCA-PSA: What Is In There For EVs And PHEVs?

With access to the eCMP platform, FCA will be able to produce the four-door electric 500 that was supposed to be built at the Mirafiori plant in Italy. We are just not sure if this car development is already too advanced to have the electric platform from PSA or if the two companies were already working with that possibility.

PSA - CMP Plataforma

It is important to remember that large scale is precisely something these companies are trying to get with the merger. And also that this is crucial to negotiate with suppliers and to convince them electric cars are viable. Volkswagen, which already is the largest automobile manufacturing group of the world, is having a hard time with that.

FCA-PSA: What Is In There For EVs And PHEVs?

What do you think?

View

Comments

It is still too early to know what the resulting company will offer customers regarding EVs. Both FCA and PSA are aware that electrification is the future, but they could also choose a different path now that they formed the fourth biggest car company in the world, with more than 400,000 employees in 137 factories across the globe. They could decide to press governments to take it easy with zero-emission plans.

What will the future bring to EV fans? We’ll need a few more Halloweens to discover. Just remember Carlos Tavares is in charge of the whole thing.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Insideevs.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The InsideEVs team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@insideevs.com

View all comments ( )

Trending

Kia EV3 Lease Deals Are Here, And It’s Cheaper Than The Chevy Bolt And Nissan Leaf

I Let Android Auto Plan My EV Roadtrip. Here’s How It Worked

This Chevy Bolt Has 470,000 Miles. Here’s How Much A New Battery Was

Here's What It's Like To Take Delivery Of A Rivian R2