Stellantis, the new car company formed from the merger of Fiat-Chrysler and the PSA group, enjoyed an impressive stock-market debut on Monday - its shares climbed as much as 7.7 percent in Milan and gained in Paris, where it is also listed.
The new company is now the world's fourth-biggest car maker, bringing together Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and Jeep under one roof. It was formed from the merger of U.S.-Italian giant Fiat-Chrysler and France's PSA group, which owns Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall.
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The firm is hoping to rival established industry giants such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan-Renault and Hyundai.
"Today, it's a great day, the day where Stellantis is born," said the firm's CEO Carlos Tavares. "I am very proud to talk to you today to tell you that all of our employees and our management teams are totally focused in the value creation that is embedded in the merger of FCA and PSA and the creation of Stellantis."
Last year was a challenging one for car companies, as lockdowns forced factories to close, travel bans hit the car-hire market and confinement measures forced people to work from home and stay local. Fiat-Chrysler lagged Ford and General Motors in 2020 in terms of U.S. sales.
Across its garage of brands, only Italian marque Alfa Romeo reported an increase in customer purchases. And global sales for PSA were sharply lower, although Peugeot gained market share in some markets.
The pressures on the market and the recovery challenges for 2021 will be a focus for the new firm.
Stellantis Chairman John Elkann symbolically rings a bell as shares in the company launched on the Milan stock exchange. /Borsa Italiana/Reuters
"Stellantis represents an extraordinary opportunity in this challenging, yet very exciting, era of profound change for our industry," said John Elkann, the chairman of the new company.
It took more than a year for the Italian-American and French auto makers to finalize the $52 billion deal.
Stellantis now joins Renault on the Paris stock market and is also listed on the Milan bourse, both of which are owned by Euronext.
"The listing of Stellantis marks the opening of a new chapter in the history of the global automotive industry. It reinforces Euronext's strong automotive and components franchise and further consolidates Europe's leading position in this industry," said Stephane Boujnah, the Euronext chairman.
The pandemic has forced auto firms to park their sales forecasts and refocus their business strategies.
Consolidating brands and investing in intelligent vehicles are two ways companies can work together in pooling their technology. Especially in terms of the development of electric cars, which many auto makers are hoping will drive a return to sales growth in 2021.