PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler explore Europe car venture

Bloomberg

PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are exploring a partnership to share investments to build cars in Europe, according to people familiar with the talks.
The French carmaker and its Italian-American peer have been holding preliminary discussions to collaborate on a “super platform” — the basic underpinning of a car model — to reduce their investment costs in the highly competitive region, said the people who asked not to be named as the matter is
private. Preliminary talks could be announced by the end of the first half, one of the people said.
PSA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares said earlier this month that his company is ready to seize opportunities for growth, less than a year after integrating the Opel and Vauxhall brands that it purchased from General Motors Co. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley said at the same time that he’d “clearly look into” a deal that would make the Italian-American carmaker stronger, including an alliance or a merger.
The partnership could eventually develop into a wider combination in the future, though the current focus is on the limited cooperation, two of the people said.
A spokesman for PSA declined to comment, and referred to comments Tavares made to the Wall Street Journal, where he said the
company wasn’t targeting a “specific” partner and isn’t engaged in “deep” negotiations to find a tie-up.
“We have continuous discussions with our partners,” Tavares told the WSJ in response to a question about potential talks with Fiat. “There is no specific target — no specific, deep, ongoing
negotiation.”
Fiat and Peugeot extended their cooperation on light-duty vans to include vehicles under the French manufacturer’s Opel and Vauxhall brands in February.
Carmakers are increasingly joining forces to share investments as the auto industry is facing a technological disruption driven by electric and self-driving cars. Stricter emission rules imposed by European regulators are
also forcing the industry to shift away from traditional combustion engines.