Peugeot, FCA Reportedly Plan to Co-Develop Electric Vehicle Platform

We’ve heard rumors of a potential merger or partnership forming between Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot’s parent company PSA group for a while now. That rumor has returned, even though neither company has confirmed that negotiations are happening. But according to the latest report from Bloomberg, the two automakers are in the early stages of these talks and will probably wait until the end of the second quarter to announce anything official.

Bloomberg‘s sources say the general idea is to co-develop a “super platform” that will be flexible enough to underpin a number of different vehicles. The focus is said to be on reducing costs in Europe for now, but with Peugeot planning to return to the U.S., there’s a chance the new platform could find its way across the Atlantic. Especially since it sounds like the focus of the eventual partnership would be on electric vehicles.

“No single car manufacturer alone can afford the sheer size of investments needed to develop platforms for the kind of smart, hybrid and connected vehicles that will hit the road in coming years,” Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe, a professor at Bocconi University in Milan, told Bloomberg. “Talks between PSA and FCA, as well as the one by BMW and Daimler, are a clear sign that the industry needs to find a new equilibrium of competition on final products and services, leveraging on inevitable cooperation in technology development and supporting infrastructures.”

According to Bloomberg‘s sources, it’s possible FCA and PSA may end up working more closely going forward. However, it’s not clear whether such a partnership would lead to a formal merger or acquisition.

Source: Bloomberg

The post Peugeot, FCA Reportedly Plan to Co-Develop Electric Vehicle Platform appeared first on Motortrend.

from Motortrend https://ift.tt/2I2W2UY