The Story Behind the Merger of Chrysler and Fiat

A few years later Fiat Chrysler Automobiles would look to find another partner to join him. In 2019, the company hoped to enter into a 50-50 merger with French car company Renault, but FCA pulled out of the deal due to dissatisfaction with the French government at the time. It then set its sights on Peugeot, and in December 2019, the two companies agreed get into that evenly split connection.

It would take until December 2020 before the European Commission approved the merger, which happened to be at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles may already be looking for a new partner, but given the devastating effects of the pandemic, which occurred at a time when people desperately needed cars, the company could use some help.

After the approval of the government, the shareholders of FCA and Peugeot approved the merger in the first week of 2021. The new company would keep its financial house in Amsterdam and be called Stellantis, eventually rubbing the name of the company Chrysler.

Chrysler still exists as a subsidiary. Returning to the list of the best-selling cars of 2023 so far, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan lands in 24 hours, making it the best-selling minivan. It’s available in both gas and hybrid versions, and it still makes the Chrysler 300 sedan a signature. However, that is the extent of his line. For a name that was once synonymous with Ford and General Motors as the “Big Three” of American automobiles, it is now only a small part of a much larger company that is not even fully American. Maybe it’s the “Big Two” now.