中华时报
关闭

中华时报APP, 全新登场!

点击下载

Fiat-Chrysler, Peugeot announce their combined company to be called "Stellantis" after merger

Shares in Italian-American automaker Fiat-Chrysler and France's Peugeot both opened higher in trading Thursday after the companies took a major step toward their much-heralded merger, announcing the combined company would be called Stellantis.

A message sent to employees Thursday and jointly signed by Fiat-Chrysler Chairman John Elkann and CEO Mike Manley explained that the moniker was derived from the Latin-language verb Stello (meaning illuminated by starlight).

The message said the combined company's goal was to be a truly global group with an extraordinary breadth and depth of talents, know-how, and resources capable of producing sustainable mobility products over the coming decades.

Based on sales figures for 2019, Stellantis will be the world's fourth-leading carmaker. The 45-billion-euro (51-billion-U.S.-dollar) deal, which has been slowed by the impacts of the global coronavirus outbreak, is now expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2021.

According to data released Thursday by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, overall car sales in Europe were 24.1 percent lower in June than in the same month a year earlier, an improvement compared to year-on-year figures for April and May when the outbreak was strongest.

Both Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot were hit harder than the sector as a whole, according to the association's figures, dropping 28.4 percent and 28.3 percent, respectively.

The unveiling of the new company's future name was applauded by investors, with shares in both Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot climbing around 2 percent when markets opened, though economic news released later in the trading session saw some of those gains evaporate.

(CGTN)

Business & Economy