(Boursier.com) — Are major merger and acquisition operations being prepared in the automobile industry? For Carlos Tavares, the boss of Stellantis, the planets are in any case aligning to witness such maneuvers. In an interview with ‘Bloomberg News’, the executive explains that the rise of Chinese manufacturers, the European Union’s efforts to phase out combustion engines and costly new agreements with the United Auto Workers union in the United States United are among the factors fueling greater M&A potential in the future. The CEO of the Peugeot owner believes that antitrust authorities will have to take these circumstances into account when deciding whether to authorize another major deal such as the merger, in 2021, between the PSA group and Fiat Chrysler.
“When these competitors (editor’s note: Chinese manufacturers) arrive on our markets with the possibility of selling their electric vehicles at the same price as combustion engine vehicles, and at the same time Western governments impose the sale of 100% vehicles battery electrics, it’s quite obvious that the guys who can’t make BEVs at competitive prices are going to be faced with an existential problem. Companies that haven’t prepared for this impact are, in my opinion, going to be struggling. Which means we have to be fit and ready. If these opportunities materialize, then we want to be part of that consolidation. Those who haven’t done their homework on cost reduction are the ones who are going to in difficulty,” explains Carlos Tavares.
“Consolidation will come and put the Western world in a difficult situation to decide what to do with antitrust laws. Current anti-competition rules are counterproductive to dealing with the Chinese offensive. At some point, if you have to finance a very expensive technology and you don’t have scale, you are going to get into difficulty”, adds the boss of Stellantis.
Renault, Ford, General Motors. Whatever his target, Carlos Tavares intends to participate in this future consolidation.
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