A major French car brand was close to being bought by a Chinese manufacturer

With 14 brands, the Stellantis group is not easy to manage. When the group was created, many experts thought that some brands would disappear in favor of the best, but Carlos Tavares never had this opinion. ” We love our brands », further confirmed the boss of Stellantis on April 10, 2024, during the the launch of Alfa Romeo Milano.

Despite his ambition to develop all the brands of the group, Carlos Tavares did not hesitate to say that he has already been approached several times to sell some of them. One of the latest proposals is still new and concerns one of the three French Stellantis brands.

The statement of the boss of Stellantis is not missing

The boss of Stellantis began to intervene by saying that when the group was created, in 2021, a competitor came to ask him if he wanted to sell Alfa Romeo. He rejected the proposal, replying: “. Are you kidding me? Alfa Romeo is one of our most valuable jewels among the 14 most famous brands. » It is not surprising that an Italian brand like Alfa Romeo can attract another group. Even if the sales volume is not good, the brand has an interesting position and history.

The rest of Carlos Tavares’ speech is even more surprising. He added: “. A few years later, well, almost a year ago, the same thing happened, but with another Stellantis brand. This time it was a Chinese car company knocking on the door asking if I wanted to sell a certain brand. I won’t tell you which one, but it was a French brand… Italians, you can relax. »

A proposal that the business manager also rejected without hesitation.

1 out of 3 chances

Since this declaration, the question remains: which French brand is interested in the Chinese manufacturer?

It is unlikely that a Chinese competitor would have the audacity to ask Carlos Tavares if he would like to sell the Peugeot brand. It’s the best French brand in the group, you’ll have to be brave enough to ask the boss to part with one of the group’s locomotives, especially in an electric car. Therefore, there remain two possible products: Citroën or DS. A brand with a strong history of innovation faces ” French premium chic “. Mystery will certainly remain for some time about the target brand of this takeover proposal.

The identity of the Chinese manufacturer is also still unknown. The abundance of existing Chinese manufacturers can discourage research on who has tried this bold approach. However, it is very easy to reduce this list to two groups that have already bought European brands to better conquer the international market. Geely (Volvo, Lotus) and SAIC (MG) seem to be the best candidates. The purchase of a brand from a large European group is not entirely compatible with the strategy of other Chinese manufacturers who have the means.

It remains interesting to see that French brands stimulate the appetite of the Chinese. There is no doubt that Renault must also have been flirted with in this way. This may explain why Carlos Tavares does not hesitate to say that Renault may fall under the yoke of the Chinese brand, knowing that Geely is already Renault’s partner in its Farasi subsidiary.

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