As FCA and PSA move to a real,actual legal agreement to merge (as early as USA Thanksgiving week,no later than Christmas).One huge key impact points that everybody pretty much have ignored is the Chinese factor of PSA's technology.
Folks mention Dongfeng, but that is small Chinese impact point, the big Chinese impact is a company called Huawei. Huawei is a very controversial technology company that have been thought of as doing spy work on the behalf of the Chinese Government which has unified Republicans and Democrats behind taking anti-Huawei measures Rubio on Huawei .
Vehicle have gotten way more advance, and dependent on electrics and electronics. Back 2017 PSA decided to use & rely on Huawei for new tech including Infotainment systems,vehicle electric and new services like Over-The-Air updates(Peugeot partners with Huawei in connected-car software). Meanwhile, FCA chosse to go with Samsung for such tech items(Fiat Chrysler picks Google, Samsung for global connected car system).
Quietly (to much of the auto media), Larry Kudlow stated the Merger would need to go through a CFIUS review & investigation-one the lengthiness & longness review process the U.S. Government has. CFIUS stands for Committee On Foreign Investment since it involves U.S. Assets & operations (Chrysler) being moved to a New Foreign Holding Company, it would require regulatory approval. Some on that "Other Mopar Fan Website" seems to not get such concept at all.
CFIUS is random, meets in secret with the only public disclosure is the lunch of an investigation into deals, approval of deals, decline to investigate deals, and rejection of deals. CFIUS is a cross functioned by U.S. Treasury, U.S. Military (Department of Defense), Commerce Department,U.S. Department Of Homeland Security, the Justice Department (which FCA has unfinished & on-going business with) and more. FCA and PSA will have to race through all the agencies of the United States Federal Government to get the greenlight out of the United States due to PSA's ties to questionable outsiders.
Difference is vey different than Daimler & Germany as Germany is an ally, which some fools on "That other mopar website" don't get, and therefore that deal (Daimler-Chrysler merger) never went to the investigation stage(also a different U.S. Presidency with different views on trade & global economics than now).
If an investigation gets lunch by CFIUS then forget about 2020 for a deal to close....the earliest for merger closing becomes Summer of 2021.
Now the concessions to get to closing will change the math behind the merger significantly. The easiest path is agree no PSA Vehicless with Huawei technology will come to North America, and agree to end any relationship with Huawei overtime.
Trying to replace Huawel technology in PSA underpinnings is a costly undertaking (the new age hard points) as well the next generation of Opel/Vauxhall products will use those underpinnings to get off GM's IP, so the cheapest path is developing an all new Merged "network of components"/Underpinnings to replace FWD PSA Underpinnings & FCA Platforms. Issue is the cost savings indicated by sharing in the press release gets delayed significantly. So in the meanwhile I expect the White Collar workforce to take it on the chin including Engineers & Designers and Rüsselsheim tech center in Germany to be shut down.
Also both Vauxhall plants (Luton and Ellesmere port) are goners as the road to actually closing the Merger between FCA & PSA will be a road that's bumpy & deeply potholed.
Folks mention Dongfeng, but that is small Chinese impact point, the big Chinese impact is a company called Huawei. Huawei is a very controversial technology company that have been thought of as doing spy work on the behalf of the Chinese Government which has unified Republicans and Democrats behind taking anti-Huawei measures Rubio on Huawei .
Vehicle have gotten way more advance, and dependent on electrics and electronics. Back 2017 PSA decided to use & rely on Huawei for new tech including Infotainment systems,vehicle electric and new services like Over-The-Air updates(Peugeot partners with Huawei in connected-car software). Meanwhile, FCA chosse to go with Samsung for such tech items(Fiat Chrysler picks Google, Samsung for global connected car system).
Quietly (to much of the auto media), Larry Kudlow stated the Merger would need to go through a CFIUS review & investigation-one the lengthiness & longness review process the U.S. Government has. CFIUS stands for Committee On Foreign Investment since it involves U.S. Assets & operations (Chrysler) being moved to a New Foreign Holding Company, it would require regulatory approval. Some on that "Other Mopar Fan Website" seems to not get such concept at all.
CFIUS is random, meets in secret with the only public disclosure is the lunch of an investigation into deals, approval of deals, decline to investigate deals, and rejection of deals. CFIUS is a cross functioned by U.S. Treasury, U.S. Military (Department of Defense), Commerce Department,U.S. Department Of Homeland Security, the Justice Department (which FCA has unfinished & on-going business with) and more. FCA and PSA will have to race through all the agencies of the United States Federal Government to get the greenlight out of the United States due to PSA's ties to questionable outsiders.
Difference is vey different than Daimler & Germany as Germany is an ally, which some fools on "That other mopar website" don't get, and therefore that deal (Daimler-Chrysler merger) never went to the investigation stage(also a different U.S. Presidency with different views on trade & global economics than now).
If an investigation gets lunch by CFIUS then forget about 2020 for a deal to close....the earliest for merger closing becomes Summer of 2021.
Now the concessions to get to closing will change the math behind the merger significantly. The easiest path is agree no PSA Vehicless with Huawei technology will come to North America, and agree to end any relationship with Huawei overtime.
Trying to replace Huawel technology in PSA underpinnings is a costly undertaking (the new age hard points) as well the next generation of Opel/Vauxhall products will use those underpinnings to get off GM's IP, so the cheapest path is developing an all new Merged "network of components"/Underpinnings to replace FWD PSA Underpinnings & FCA Platforms. Issue is the cost savings indicated by sharing in the press release gets delayed significantly. So in the meanwhile I expect the White Collar workforce to take it on the chin including Engineers & Designers and Rüsselsheim tech center in Germany to be shut down.
Also both Vauxhall plants (Luton and Ellesmere port) are goners as the road to actually closing the Merger between FCA & PSA will be a road that's bumpy & deeply potholed.
