通過(guò)這個(gè)看似向著獲批邁進(jìn)的合并交易，菲亞特克萊斯勒（FCA）將獲得電動(dòng)汽車技術(shù)，而標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)（PSA）將受益于其急需的經(jīng)銷商網(wǎng)絡(luò)，來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)其進(jìn)駐美國(guó)市場(chǎng)的目標(biāo)。

《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》在10月30日的報(bào)道中引用一位匿名線人的話稱，PSA董事會(huì)已經(jīng)批準(zhǔn)了此次交易。這次合并的聯(lián)合市值約為500億美元，將誕生全球第四大汽車制造商。兩家公司均未對(duì)此置評(píng)。

專家們說(shuō)，這兩家汽車制造商可以借此分享轎車、SUV和商用車型設(shè)計(jì)，彌補(bǔ)各自的弱點(diǎn)，并共享成本，從而讓新公司成為一家更強(qiáng)大的國(guó)際汽車制造商。

晨星公司的分析師理查德·西爾基特在致投資者的信件中寫道：“有鑒于當(dāng)前的全球競(jìng)爭(zhēng)環(huán)境、較高的資本密集度以及電動(dòng)動(dòng)力系統(tǒng)和自動(dòng)駕駛技術(shù)對(duì)行業(yè)的顛覆性影響，我們認(rèn)為這兩家公司的合并是合理的?！?/p>

菲亞特克萊斯特在10月30日確認(rèn)說(shuō)，公司今年與法國(guó)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)再度進(jìn)行了嘗試性接觸，為的是在這個(gè)汽車業(yè)務(wù)充滿不確定性因素的時(shí)代重塑全球汽車產(chǎn)業(yè)。在雙方接觸之前，菲亞特克萊斯勒與法國(guó)雷諾的合并以失敗告終。菲亞特克萊斯勒多年來(lái)一直在尋求合作伙伴，以共同承擔(dān)開(kāi)發(fā)未來(lái)技術(shù)所需的大量資金成本。

但一位不愿透露姓名的知情人士稱，此次交易何時(shí)開(kāi)展尚無(wú)定論，但標(biāo)致董事會(huì)在10月30日召開(kāi)了會(huì)議。

以下四個(gè)因素對(duì)于兩家汽車制造商的成功合并至關(guān)重要：

技術(shù)

多年來(lái)，菲亞特克萊斯勒缺乏這位對(duì)手的電動(dòng)汽車技術(shù)，其前任首席執(zhí)行官曾經(jīng)試圖勸阻人們購(gòu)買其在美國(guó)發(fā)布的唯一一款純電動(dòng)汽車Fiat 500E，因?yàn)槊渴垡惠v都會(huì)虧錢。Navigant Research的分析師山姆·阿布爾薩米德說(shuō)，公司已經(jīng)在氣電混動(dòng)汽車領(lǐng)域取得了一些進(jìn)步，而且可能有計(jì)劃開(kāi)發(fā)更多的純電動(dòng)汽車，但標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)擁有可供菲亞特克萊斯勒使用的寶貴技術(shù)。

相對(duì)來(lái)講，標(biāo)致在這場(chǎng)電動(dòng)汽車競(jìng)賽中已經(jīng)落入下風(fēng)，但如今正在迅速迎頭趕上，尤其是拉近與其法國(guó)本土競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手雷諾的距離。首席執(zhí)行官卡洛斯·塔瓦爾斯曾經(jīng)在諸多車展上和電話會(huì)議上強(qiáng)調(diào)，公司有必要根據(jù)不斷變化的技術(shù)進(jìn)行調(diào)整。去年，他宣布在2025年前，在后續(xù)產(chǎn)品中推出40款電動(dòng)車型。

阿布爾薩米德說(shuō)：“到目前為止，電動(dòng)化占兩家業(yè)務(wù)的比例還不是很大。對(duì)于這兩家汽車制造商來(lái)說(shuō)，我認(rèn)為無(wú)論它們做什么，其規(guī)模都小不到哪去，而且它們還能共同承擔(dān)橫跨電動(dòng)平臺(tái)的組件成本、開(kāi)發(fā)成本?！?/p>

電動(dòng)汽車的增加還將有助于菲亞特克萊斯勒滿足歐洲污染和燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的要求。

阿布爾薩米德說(shuō)，就自動(dòng)駕駛汽車而言，這兩家公司都沒(méi)有優(yōu)勢(shì)。但這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的成熟還需要很多年的時(shí)間，也為它們承擔(dān)巨額成本、迎頭趕上留出了時(shí)間。阿布爾薩米德說(shuō)，菲亞特克萊斯勒還與其他公司建立了聯(lián)盟，例如從谷歌剝離的公司W(wǎng)aymo。只要技術(shù)成熟，這家公司隨時(shí)都可能在市場(chǎng)上推出自動(dòng)駕駛技術(shù)。

美國(guó)

塔瓦爾斯去年到訪底特律時(shí)說(shuō)，標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)將在10年內(nèi)進(jìn)軍美國(guó)市場(chǎng)。

他說(shuō)：“如果你希望成為一家國(guó)際性公司，美國(guó)是必須進(jìn)駐的市場(chǎng)。”

公司自此一直在開(kāi)發(fā)叫車服務(wù)，并與經(jīng)銷商對(duì)話，但收效甚微。與菲亞特克萊斯勒的合并可以大大加速這個(gè)目標(biāo)的實(shí)現(xiàn)。

菲亞特克萊斯勒在美國(guó)有2640家經(jīng)銷商，將為標(biāo)致和標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)其他車型提供現(xiàn)成的經(jīng)銷網(wǎng)絡(luò)。標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)甚至可能依然通過(guò)啟用未充分利用的菲亞特和雷諾經(jīng)銷商，來(lái)保持與菲亞特克萊斯勒品牌之間的獨(dú)立性。

標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)專業(yè)生產(chǎn)中小車型，但這類車型在喜歡SUV和卡車的美國(guó)已經(jīng)失去了市場(chǎng)，甚至一些國(guó)際買家也對(duì)其失去了興趣。阿布爾薩米德稱，標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)可以以菲亞特克萊斯勒熱銷的吉普SUV和Ram系列皮卡為藍(lán)本，打造自有車型。

歐洲

菲亞特克萊斯勒和標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)在完成并購(gòu)方面不會(huì)遇到什么麻煩，因?yàn)橐獯罄头▏?guó)之間在打造商用車方面有著數(shù)十年的合作。然而，歐洲還面臨著一個(gè)更大的問(wèn)題。菲亞特、標(biāo)致、雪鐵龍和歐寶陣營(yíng)之間的小型車型和轎車車型之間會(huì)出現(xiàn)很大的重疊。

隨著歐洲車輛的滯銷，公司不得不關(guān)閉工廠來(lái)應(yīng)對(duì)產(chǎn)能過(guò)剩。為了捍衛(wèi)工作崗位，法國(guó)和意大利將開(kāi)展斗爭(zhēng)。意大利工廠已經(jīng)在低負(fù)荷運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，盡管它們計(jì)劃改換這些工廠的用途，以生產(chǎn)利潤(rùn)更高的頂級(jí)品牌阿爾法羅密歐和瑪莎拉蒂。

分析師表示，被標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)于2017年從通用汽車手中購(gòu)買的歐寶，可能會(huì)面臨最嚴(yán)重的裁員，它如今是一家法國(guó)企業(yè)的子公司，只不過(guò)大多數(shù)工廠位于德國(guó)。此次合并有望幫助菲亞特克萊斯勒拉近與嚴(yán)格的排放標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的距離。分析師預(yù)計(jì)，標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)的電動(dòng)和混合動(dòng)力系統(tǒng)將有助于加速這一轉(zhuǎn)型。但意大利的工會(huì)稱，在這場(chǎng)必然十分痛苦的電動(dòng)化轉(zhuǎn)型過(guò)程中，政治干預(yù)不可或缺。

亞洲

在全球最大的汽車市場(chǎng)中國(guó)，此次合并預(yù)計(jì)對(duì)于這兩家汽車制造商基本上沒(méi)有什么幫助。

盡管中國(guó)汽車制造商?hào)|風(fēng)在2014年對(duì)標(biāo)致進(jìn)行了投資，但公司并沒(méi)有開(kāi)展實(shí)質(zhì)性的舉措來(lái)拓展標(biāo)致在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)的銷售業(yè)績(jī)。從這一點(diǎn)來(lái)看，這兩家公司在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)上的關(guān)系并沒(méi)有像想象的那樣緊密。

標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)去年稱，其在中國(guó)的銷售額下滑了34%，而汽車市場(chǎng)本身的降幅僅有2%，同時(shí)它與東風(fēng)的合資企業(yè)也報(bào)出了2.34億歐元的虧損。

菲亞特克萊斯勒與中國(guó)公司廣汽集團(tuán)創(chuàng)建了一家合資企業(yè)，推出了四款吉普車型。菲亞特克萊斯勒2018年的銷量為16.3萬(wàn)臺(tái)，下滑了24%。公司稱原因在于SUV領(lǐng)域的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)變得愈發(fā)激烈。菲亞特去年在中國(guó)的市場(chǎng)份額僅有0.8%。

盡管中國(guó)的汽車銷量今年再次出現(xiàn)下滑，但業(yè)界預(yù)期該市場(chǎng)在未來(lái)數(shù)年將保持增長(zhǎng)態(tài)勢(shì)。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

In a merger deal that appears to be heading for approval, Fiat Chrysler stands to gain electric vehicle technology while PSA Peugeot Citroen could benefit from a badly needed dealership network to reach its goal of selling vehicles in the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources it did not identify, reported on October 30 that the PSA board has approved the deal, which would create the world’s fourth-largest automaker with a combined market value of around $50 billion. Neither company would comment.

Experts say the two automakers would be able to share car, SUV and commercial vehicle designs, helping each other fill weaknesses and share costs that will make them a strong global player.

“We view the combination of these two companies as reasonable given global competition, high capital intensity, and industry disruption from electrified powertrain as well as autonomous technologies,” Morningstar analyst Richard Hilgert wrote in a note to investors.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles confirmed on October 30 that it’s in talks with French rival PSA in its second try this year to reshape the global auto industry at a time of heightened uncertainty for the business. The talks started after a merger with France’s Renault collapsed earlier this year. FCA for years has been looking for a partner to share huge capital costs to develop future technologies.

The timing of any deal is unclear, but the Peugeot board was meeting on October 30, said a person close to the discussions on condition of anonymity.

Here are four areas that could be crucial to the two automakers’ success:

Technology

For years, Fiat Chrysler has lagged its rivals in electric vehicle technology, with its former CEO once trying to discourage people from buying its only fully electric car in the United States, the Fiat 500E, because he lost money on each sale. The company has made progress on gas-electric hybrids and may have plans for more fully electric vehicles, but PSA has valuable technology that FCA can use, said Navigant Research analyst Sam Abuelsamid.

Peugeot was relatively late to the electric vehicle game but is now working fast to catch up, notably with fellow French rival Renault. CEO Carlos Tavares has made a point of stressing the company’s need to adapt to changing technology at car shows and earnings calls. Last year he announced plans to offer 40 electric models across its lineup by 2025.

“Electrification hasn’t been a huge part of their play up until now,” Abuelsamid said. “Between the two of them, I think they could generate some scale for whatever they’re doing, sharing component costs, development costs across electrical platforms,” he said.

More electric vehicles also would help FCA meet pollution and fuel economy regulations in Europe.

United States

At an appearance in Detroit last year, Tavares said PSA would be selling vehicles in the U.S. within the next decade.

“If you want to be a global player, you have to be there,” he said.

The company has since been working on ride-hailing services and talking to dealerships, but little progress has been revealed. A deal with FCA could accelerate that goal greatly.

With 2,640 dealers across the U.S., Fiat Chrysler would be a ready distribution network for Peugeot and other PSA vehicles. PSA even could remain separate from Fiat Chrysler brands by selling in underutilized Fiat and Alfa Romeo dealerships.

PSA specializes in small and medium-sized cars, which have fallen out of favor with U.S. and even some international buyers who prefer SUVs and trucks. PSA could build its own vehicles off the underpinnings of FCA’s hot selling Jeep SUVs and Ram trucks, Abuelsamid said.

Europe

Fiat Chrysler and PSA are likely to have an easier time completing a merger due to decades of cooperation in both Italy and France on building commercial vehicles. But Europe will also pose one of the bigger problems. There is a large overlap in the types of smaller cars and sedans built under the Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen and Opel marquees.

That raises the specter of factory closures to deal with overproduction as European car sales lag. France and Italy will fight to protect jobs; Italian plants are already working under capacity despite plans to repurpose them for higher-margin premium brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

Analysts say that Opel, purchased by PSA from General Motors in 2017, could face the most drastic cuts, as it is now part of a French company even though most of its plants are in Germany. The merger is expected to help Fiat Chrysler get closer to meeting strict emissions standards with analysts expecting PSA’s electric and hybrid powertrains to help speed the transition. But Italian unions say that there needs to also be political involvement in the admittedly painful transition to electrified powertrains.

Asia

The merger is expected to do very little to help the two carmakers in the world’s largest market: China.

Despite a 2014 investment in Peugeot by the Chinese carmaker Dongfeng, there has been no real push to expand the French carmaker’s sales in the Chinese market. This seems to indicate that the two carmakers are not as intertwined in China as expected.

PSA Peugeot last year reported its sales in China down 34% in a market that slipped just 2%, with the Dongfeng joint venture posting losses last year of 234 million euros.

Fiat Chrysler, which produces four Jeep models in a joint venture with the Chinese company GAC, saw sales dropped 24% to 163,000 in 2018. It cited higher competition the SUV segment. Fiat had just a 0.8% market share in China last year.

While China sales are off again this year, they are projected to keep growing in future years.