Car giant boss behind two ‘struggling’ brands denies talks over ‘massive merger’ with rival firm
THE boss of a huge carmaker behind two struggling brands has denied talks of a reported mega-merger with a rival firm.
John Elkann, the Chairman of car conglomerate Stellantis, has ruled out talks of a potential union with European competitor Renault Group.
Stellantis is the company behind brands such as Fiat and Peugot.
The news comes as some of the firm's badges, including Chrysler, DS Automobiles and Abarth, are under-performing.
But Mr Elkann has dismissed increasing rumours of the company merging with fellow European brand Renault.
Instead, he said: "We are not discussing any merger."
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Mr Elkann was sat in a panel adjacent to Luca De Meo, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Renault, at the .
It is the second time in a few months that the company has denied rumours of a merger with Renault.
In October last year, then CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, dismissed suggestions the two firms would join forces as "pure speculation."
He did so while visiting a Renault hub in eastern France.
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Renault boss de Meo declined to comment on what he described as "rumours" at the same event.
Mr Tavares has since resigned as Stellantis CEO in December last year.
He is yet to be replaced.
The merger has been denied amid starkly contrasting economic backgrounds for the European car firms.
Renault Group enjoyed boosts in sales for all three of its brands last year.
Renault rose 1.8 percent to 1,577,351 vehicles, Dacia increased 2.7 percent to 676,340 units, and Alpine climbed 5.9 percent to 4,585 units.
Stellantis, by contrast, has encountered increasingly stuttering financial success.
The company itself is the product of a merger between Fiat-Chrysler and France's PSA, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen, in 2021.
In February, the company announced that its results for 2024 saw a 70% drop in net profit performance, and a 17% reduction in revenues year-on--year.
This was in part due to “temporary gaps in product offerings."
Earlier this year, Chrysler announced that progress making the company's new flagship electric model, the Airflow, was
This followed located in the middle of the desert, in Arizona, in a desperate bid to cut costs, last year.
Fiat and Abarth were also forced to drop the prices of two key models, the Fiat 600e and Abarth 500e by £4,020 and £4,220 at the start of 2025.
This followed a 14% sales drop for Fiat last year compared to 2024.
Then in the wake of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, Stellantis considered selling iconic brands Maserati and Alpha Romeo.
Maserati sold just 11,300 cars worldwide in 2024, and saw its new electric sports model MC20 Folgore get cancelled following low demand.
Consequently, Stellantis then hired management consulting firm McKinsey and Company to review the situation of the brands.
Stellanis told Motor1: "McKinsey has been asked to provide its considerations regarding the recently announced U.S. tariffs for Alfa Romeo and Maserati."
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Alfa Romeo is currently working on next-generation versions of Stelvio and Giulia.
However, Maserati cancelling its plans for electric cars perhaps points towards a more precarious position for the brand.
