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Ten days after Stellantis announced a drastic revision of its financial forecasts, which resulted in a 40% drop in the share price, Carlos TavaresCEO of the Stellantis group, wanted to demonstrate on Thursday, during a visit to the historic Peugeot plant in Sochaux, that the group was not changing course, at the same time that he wanted to clear the rumors of a merger with Renault in which BMW would also be involved.
Rumors that the giant Stellantis and Group Renault could merge are “pure speculation,” declared Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares on Thursday.
Merger or collaboration?
It was the Italian newspaper ‘Il Sole 24 Ore’ the one that triggered the rumor mill in recent days by resuming the idea of a merger between Stellantis and the Renault Group. And in 2019, the then FCA group, Fiat Chrysler, had officially proposed a merger with Renault. A proposal that did not materialize, after a few months of negotiation.
This new and hypothetical merger between Stellantis and Renault would lead to the creation of a gigantic automobile group made up of no less than eighteen brands.
The first rumors circulated in February 2024, but there has never been any trace of a merger between Stellantis and the Renault group. However, the aforementioned Italian newspaper insists that it is a meeting planned between Luca de Meo (General Director of the Renault group) and Carlos Tavares (CEO of Stellantis) on October 15, during the Paris Motor Showwhich should also be attended by Oliver Zipse, General Director of bmw.
What does BMW have to do with this? According to rumors, it would be for the creation of a European automobile group in the style of Airbusan idea evoked by Luca de Meo at the beginning of the yearwith an electric car market that was already beginning to show signs of fatigue in Europe.
For him, the big European brands should unite to confront Chinese brandsas Airbus did in its day (it is the result of the concentration of almost all French, German and Spanish aeronautical manufacturers) and which has led it to dominate the civil aeronautical market and with a strong presence in the military market.
Since February, all rumors about a possible merger between Stellantis and the Renault group have been systematically denied, either by Carlos Tavares himself or by John Elkann, President of Stellantis.
Interrogated again on Thursday during a visit to Sochaux, Carlos Tavares, quoted by the press agency Reutersdescribed these rumors as “pure speculation.” For its part, Luca de Meo refuses to comment.
The same Thursday, during a press conference with Suez, dedicated to the circular economy, Reuters asked again about this possible merger. Luca de Meo responded simply: “I don’t comment on rumors” and that it was not the topic of the day. He added that, as usual, he would greet Carlos Tavares at the Paris Motor Show on October 14.
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