Lee Iaccoca, who passed away last July, became a legend in the US auto industry by becoming (1978) the CEO of a Chrysler in the midst of its collapse and turning it around (with a billion dollar boost from the government…).

But the company’s independence ends with a merger of equals that sees Daimler effectively take control of Chrysler. The conclusion of a real managerial success (!), as many German-American mergers have been (see Walmart and InterSpar or Procter & Gamble and Wella…), Daimler sold 80% of its shares in 2007 on the basis of a total value of 10 billion dollars, while its investment cost it a total of 36 billion.

From Chapter 11 to takeover, Chrysler fell into the lap of Fiat, first partially in 2009, then totally in 2014, the group becoming Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA).

Recently, the announcement was made of a merger between equals (always!) between FCA and PSA (Peugeot and Citroën brands). Thus, subject to the approval of the competition authorities, Chrysler will be part of an American-Italian-French cocktail of 170 billion Euros in turnover.

To spice things up, one of PSA’s significant shareholders, of Chinese origin, is called DongFeng (literally “East wind”), but is expected to reduce its stake in the final scheme.

Sharing industrial facilities and R&D costs, pooling risks and having a global footprint is clearly in the spirit of the times and a good illustration of the concept of critical mass.

But it is also a delicate implementation exercise. Will the sailing be smoother between now and 2024, on the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of the founding of the firm by Walter Chrysler … and the birth of Lee Iaccoca?