PSA platform will now underpin FCA small cars

KUALA LUMPUR: The megamerger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA has been in the talks for quite some time now, and as announced by the two companies last month, the new entity will be called Stellantis. The final terms of the new entity are not yet finalized, but a new deal between the two companies has been revealed.

As Groupe PSA has a strong foundation for combustion engines as well as electric vehicles, the FCA has decided to adopt the PSA Common Modular Platform for its future compact cars. According to Automotive News Europe, FCA sent a letter to its suppliers in late July asking them to immediately suspend research, development, and preparation of tools for the upcoming smaller models.

The source also reported that in March this year, FCA told its suppliers to stop further work on five small cars for its Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Fiat, and Lancia brands. The reason for the suspension was disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PSA’s CMP chassis currently underpins a number of small cars, including Peugeot 208 supermini, Peugeot 2008 mini-crossover, DS3 Crossback, Opel Corsa, and the new Mokka. The platform can incorporate piston- and electric-based powertrains. The platform sharing will decrease FCA’s development costs and boost economies of scale. More than likely, the Fiat 500 will be the first to use the updated architecture.

According to the report, FCA would manufacture the new CMP based cars at a plant in Tychy, Poland, where the automaker is currently assembling Fiat 500 and Lancia Ypsilon and has plans to build up to 400,000 CMP models yearly.

FCA and PSA merger is expected to complete early next year, but the two companies must still act as competitors until the deal gets finalized. To get around that obstacle, they created an independent corporation to pursue platform-sharing projects.

Also read: Groupe PSA's new eVMP platform - Check out full details