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<\/p>\nEveryone knew it was coming. It wasn\u2019t a secret. Stellantis, the automaker formerly known as, variously, PSA Peugeot Citro\u00ebn, Chrysler Corp, DaimlerChrysler, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (plus GM Europe, actually), couldn\u2019t possibly support every brand equally. Something would have to give. Now, thanks to a new report, there\u2019s some sense of what\u2019s giving and what\u2019s taking.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s good news and bad news here, depending on what brand you hoped would survive. They\u2019re all going to still be here, just some are now secondary brands. A lot of legendary brands are about to become secondary brands.<\/p>\n
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The Morning Dump cannot see into the future, but it didn\u2019t take a Ouija board to see that Porsche was going to eject its Rimac and Bugatti holdings. What maybe caught me by surprise was the excitement that Chinese brands would have for hybrids, but there\u2019s more of them coming out in Beijing this week. In the UK, they\u2019re showing electric vans.<\/p>\n
The Core Brands Make Sense Back in 2024, I wrote a post with the somewhat tongue-in-cheek headline \u201cA List Of Brands Stellantis Might Kill Ranked From \u2018Jeep\u2019 To \u2018Most Likely\u2019<\/a>\u201d based on the premise that having all of these brands tied up into one automaker, all getting special treatment, probably didn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n I listed the safe brands as Jeep, Peugeot, Fiat, Ram, Citro\u00ebn, Dodge, and Leapmotor. Technically, based on this latest report from\u00a0Reuters<\/a>, all of the brands are\u00a0safe, but not all of the brands are the pillars of the company. New CEO Antonio Filosa has to shake things up somehow:<\/p>\n Filosa will present a new business strategy in Detroit May 21. His plan concentrates investment on Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat as the brands that \u201creally matter\u201d because of their higher sales volumes and profits, a source told Reuters.<\/p>\n Under the new strategy, Stellantis will use brands such as Citroen, Opel and Alfa Romeo tactically in specific countries and market segments, four sources said.<\/p>\n Options for regional brands include using platforms and technologies developed by the core brands, adding their own internal and external design features and handling to give them a distinctive look and feel, the fourth source said. Rebadging some models for specific local markets is another solution under consideration, two of the sources said.<\/p>\n That \u2018really matter\u2019 quote is rough. It\u2019s also probably correct, right? The French government still owns part of Stellantis and one of the brands is going to have to be French, and Peugeot is the big one. For DS and Citro\u00ebn this isn\u2019t even going to be that big of a change.<\/p>\n Fiat makes sense as it\u2019s the OG brand, although the lineups are little different these days, and Fiat isn\u2019t the full-line automaker it once was. Of all the traditionally Fiat brands (Alfa, Maserati, Lancia), it\u2019s Alfa Romeo that\u2019s shown the most growth recently.<\/p>\n Jeep was always going to the brand that sticks around as it has the most brand value, plus a slate of (traditionally) high-margin vehicles. The concept of it being a brand that makes platforms that then get shared is interesting as, normally, Jeep has the only-for-Jeep Wrangler and then a bunch of other cars built on borrowed platforms. Will Dodge benefit here? Maybe? Chrysler?<\/p>\n Ram is probably the biggest standout here, as I tend to think of Ram as a very American brand. It\u2019s also, if done correctly, profitable enough to cover up for losses from other parts of the company. Ram extends beyond our borders, though, and has prominence in Latin America as well. Heck, they even sell Ram trucks in Australia these days.<\/p>\n The big open question to me is what happens to the \u201cregional brands?\u201d Does it make sense to keep selling Alfa Romeos and Fiats in the United States? Sales continue to be dismal and I don\u2019t see that turning around.<\/p>\n Maserati isn\u2019t mentioned at all in this report, which only makes me more convinced that Stellantis is going to sell the brand. I mean, selling your low-volume luxury sports car brand is all the rage now.<\/p>\n Porsche Sells Shares In Rimac And Bugatti Bugatti was maybe the last great example of a Volkswagen with so much money it didn\u2019t know how to spend it. Now, Volkswagen needs that money, and so it\u2019s selling its shares in Bugatti-Rimac and Rimac. I wrote about this at length last year<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in the background. The short version is that Porsche, having invested in Rimac and then quasi-sold Bugatti to a Porsche controlled joint venture with Rimac, seemed to want out of the agreement.<\/p>\n So who owns the company now? Here\u2019s Porsche\u2019s explanation of what\u2019s going to happen:<\/p>\n Porsche and Rimac Group established Bugatti Rimac as a joint venture in 2021 to serve as home to the iconic Bugatti brand. In this joint venture, Porsche holds a minority stake of 45%, Rimac Group owns 55%. Porsche also holds a 20.6% stake in Rimac Group. As part of the transaction announced today, Porsche will fully divest its equity stakes in Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group to the HOF Capital-led consortium. This includes BlueFive Capital as its largest investor, as well as a group of institutional investors across the US and EU. Following completion, Rimac Group is set to take control of Bugatti Rimac and form a strategic partnership with HOF Capital and BlueFive Capital to support its continued growth. HOF Capital will additionally join Rimac Group as the largest shareholder alongside Mate Rimac, founder of Rimac and CEO of Bugatti Rimac.<\/p>\n And who is HOF Capital and BlueFive Capital?\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a> has some details:<\/p>\n BlueFive is a private equity firm run by former Investcorp executive Hazem Ben-Gacem. HOF Capital was co-founded by Onsi Sawiris, who\u2019s the son of billionaire Naguib Sawiris and grandson of the late Egyptian construction magnate also named Onsi Sawiris.<\/p>\n Got it.<\/p>\n OMODA & JAECOO Maybe Has Another Hit On Its Hands If you live outside of the United Kingdom, you might no know the brands OMODA and Jaecoo. If you live in Bristol, you\u2019ve probably seen a lot of them<\/a>. While Chinese EV automakers are having luck in the UK, the hybrids have been especially popular lately. It\u2019s no surprise, then, that the two related brands used the Beijing show this week to show off a new hybrid:<\/p>\n On display was the OMODA 4, a key addition to the brand\u2019s evolving global line-up and a clear expression of its future design and technology direction \u2013 and confirmed for UK launch in Q4 2026. It was showcased with a full hybrid SHS-H powertrain specification, which was first introduced on the OMODA line on the OMODA 5 SHS-H at the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n Positioned as a compact, urban-focused model, OMODA 4 combines sharp, contemporary styling with a strong emphasis on digital integration and everyday usability. Its exterior reflects the brand\u2019s progressive \u2018art in motion\u2019 philosophy, while its connected, user-centric interior focuses on intuitive technology, integrated displays and seamless interaction. Advanced connectivity and intelligent driver assistance systems further underline its appeal to modern, tech-focused customers.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll be interesting to see how cheaply the company can price this.<\/p>\n Behold, The Chery Delivan<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Photo: Jeep<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Photo: VW<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Source: OMODA & JAECOO<\/p>\n