A new report from Automotive News says PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could partner on developing a new vehicle platform that would underpin every electric vehicle offered by the two automakers. This is just a rumor as those familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, dished undisclosed details.
The FCA-PSA joint venture could potentially challenge General Motors and its renewed investment in developing its own electric vehicles.
According to Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe in the report, a professor at Bocconi University in Milan, no single automaker can shoulder the size of investments needed to develop the cars of tomorrow – electric, self–driving, and connected. FCA hasn’t been quiet about seeking consolidation, and PSA Group, which is eyeing a return to the U.S. market with its Peugeot, is open to a partnership or merger, too.
However, the report says talks between the two are centered on co–developing a “super-platform” — a new vehicle platform that’d underpin every electric vehicle offered by PSA and FCA and their respective brands. Developing such a platform together would not only save each a considerable amount of money in research and development but also save on manufacturing costs.
General Motors is also developing an all–new scalable architecture for a slate of new electric vehicles — 20 by 2023. However, GM will shoulder the entirety of those R&D costs. Rumors of investing in Rivian, a Michigan–based EV start-up, have fizzled. GM is taking a considerable risk in developing its own EV architecture. Slow sales and thin profit margins could spell financial disaster for the automaker, especially if it’s not sharing costs. GM will begin its EV efforts with an all-electric Cadillac the company announced earlier this year.
Automakers are in a race against one another – and yet it’s not a race they can win alone. The future of the automotive industry is murkier than its ever been with even more uncertainty. Partnering to share the development costs of the future is smart. Such corporate coziness could put FCA and PSA far ahead of GM in the EV space.
Source: Automotive News
Comments
None of these brands are anything I am worried about.
GM has a lead on this and a partner already with Honda. I expect GM will sell systems to others as they hit the market with them.
In the end I would not be surprised to see GM a supplier of tech systems to others much as they used to supply transmissions and AC systems to others.
GM could be the next Intel.
The money in EV models is not in production but is supplying systems. Much like Intel made their money supplying computer parts not computers.
GM will still make vehicles but I see them taking on more as a technology supplier role.
The difference is GM has been working with electric vehicles for a long time. A story like this reads differently if we’re talking about a company like Mazda that has shown zero effort.
Everyone makes it sound like GM woke up yesterday and decided to do their EV platform. At this point their EV platform is probably pretty much complete waiting for batteries. An EV platform is not rocket science and they’ve done platform engineering before. From the Volt, Spark EV and Bolt EV GM has all the major components needed for an EV – motor, inverter, DC-DC, etc… are well known. So it really comes down to packaging so the platform can be reused for the widest number of vehicles without major achitecture changes.
Now contrast that to PSA, FCA, Ford, Mazda, etc…
I see GM eventually breaking into two with a spin off of Cruise and EV technologies. A General Motors focused on traditional car design, manufacturing and marketing and a “Global Mobility” focused on the technology of tomorrow would be rewarded by wall street.
GM is transitioning to be a mobility company so don’t expect that GM will break into parts.
One of the massive future GM strengths is that it will likely become the World’s best vertically integrated mobility company.