Stellantis Logo Revealed As FCA And PSA Prepare To Merge
Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge parent FCA, and Europe's PSA Groupe have revealed the new logo for their Stellantis merger, and while the deal hasn't closed yet, there's certainly no shortage of verbiage about the design. Announced back in October 2019, the merging will create the fourth largest global automaker OEM in terms of vehicle sales, with Stellantis a clean fifty-fifty split between the two.
The new name was announced midway through this year, meanwhile, along with the promise that it would only be "used exclusively at the Group level." That means familiar brands like Jeep, Chrysler, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, and Opel will not be going away.
What was left to confirm, however, was the logo the automakers had in mind. That's been unveiled today, and we can't say it's terribly dramatic or surprising. The Stellantis name appears in the same, stylized font that we saw in July 2020, only now the "A" has been given a bubbly halo.
Don't worry, though: the brand marketers are here to make sure we see the new graphic for what it truly is. "The logo symbolizes the rich heritage of Stellantis' founding companies and the unique combined strengths of the new group's portfolio of 14 storied automotive brands," the nearly-merged automakers said today, "as well as the diversity of professional backgrounds of its employees working in all the regions."
"Along with the Stellantis name – whose Latin root "stello" means "to brighten with stars" – it is the visual representation of the spirit of optimism, energy and renewal of a diverse and innovative company determined to be one of the new leaders in the next era of sustainable mobility."
If all goes to plan, that merger is expected to be completed by the end of March, 2021. It'll set the new Group up for a not-inconsiderable challenge ahead, too, with the pressing demands of a car-buying audience waking up to electrification needing to be satisfied.
It's an area we've seen only partial efforts in so far from the individual automakers. FCA, for example, has the popular Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan in its line-up, and recently announced the Jeep Wrangler 4xe hybrid. However it discontinued sales of the all-electric Fiat 500e in the US, which was the only pure BEV that FCA offered across its brands.
The goal is to harmonize vehicle development – both of EVs and otherwise – across Stellantis, leveraging that scale for a diverse portfolio of vehicles that tap common platforms. In the process, it'll leave the individual brands free to chase the most likely sales and categories in their respective markets, while hopefully tamping down on the huge amount of research & development spend required to create new architectures.