In early 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sought a merger with French automaker Renault, and reached a provisional agreement with the company. However, the behaviour of the French government during negotiations led to the abandonment of the deal; The Economist reported that "for FCA this portended future interference." Nissan also had various concerns of the impact of the proposal on its alliance with Renault.
Subsequently, FCA approached PSA. The merger, officially agreed in December 2019, was to create the world's fourth-largest carmaker by global vehicle sales with expected annual cost savings of €3.7 billion, or approximately $4.22 billion.
On 21 December 2020, the European Commission announced its approval of the merger, while imposing minimal remedies to ensure competition in the sector.
The merger was approved on 4 January 2021 by the shareholders of both FCA and PSA and the deal completed on 16 January 2021. Common shares of the new company began trading on the Milan Stock Exchange (MTA) and Euronext Paris on 18 January 2021 and on the New York Stock Exchange on 19 January 2021, in each case under the ticker symbol "STLA".
International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, mandate the identification of the company acting as the acquirer and the company being acquired. “Based on the assessment of the indicators under IFRS 3 accounting standard and consideration of all pertinent facts and circumstances, FCA and PSA’s management determined that Peugeot S.A. is the acquirer for accounting purposes.” The filing notes the Stellantis board will have 11 directors, six from PSA and five from Fiat Chrysler. Additionally, the new company's first CEO, who is vested with the full authority to individually represent Stellantis, is Carlos Tavares, the former president of the PSA managing board as well as former CEO of PSA Group. He will also have a five-year term as Stellantis CEO. PSA shareholders have also paid a pre-merger premium to FCA shareholders. However, Exor, the Agnelli family company that was the largest shareholder of FCA, will hold the largest stake in Stellantis with 14.4 percent. The merger agreements allow the Peugeot family to further increase its current 7.2% stake in Stellantis by up to an additional 1.5% by acquiring shares from France's state lender Bpifrance, from Dongfeng or on the market.
The name Stellantis is exclusively used to identify the corporate entity, while group brand names and logos remain unchanged.
In 2021 CEO Carlos Tavares issued a challenge for the group's brands to prove themselves within a 10-year window, in exchange for much-needed investment in new models and technology.
The group plans to have 39 electrified vehicle models available by the end of 2021. There are four EV platforms planned to be developed by the end of the 2020s. Overall, the company announced more than €30bn will be invested by the end of 2021. A network of charging stations started in November 2021.
On December 7, 2021, Stellantis announced that sales of new vehicles in the third quarter of 2021 dropped due to issues related to the supply chain shortage of semiconductor chips used in their vehicles. CEO Tavares also announced an agreement with semiconductor manufacturer Foxconn to supply chips for the company and others in the automotive industry. The number of semiconductors contained in an automobile is in the thousands and this number is expected to increase in the foreseeable future.
