1. The merger of FCA and PSA was approved by the EU antitrust agency. According to foreign media reports, on December 21, the merger of FCA and French rival PSA was approved by the EU antitrust agency.

The two companies will complete a merger worth US$38 billion to create the world's fourth-largest automaker.

The two parties had previously promised to boost sales of Japanese rival Toyota.

(Image source: Chrysler) FCA and PSA hope that this deal can help them solve the dual challenges currently facing the auto industry, namely obtaining funds to produce clean vehicles and coping with the challenges of the global epidemic.

The European Commission said that PSA will extend its minivan agreement with Toyota to increase production capacity for Toyota and reduce the transfer price of vehicles, parts and accessories, thereby addressing the EU's antitrust concerns.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement: "For many freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe, the level of competition in the small commercial truck market is very important." The EU antitrust agency also said that FCA and PSA also

Competitors will be allowed to use its truck repair and maintenance network, helping new entrants expand the market.

The merged company will be called Stellantis and will own brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati, Peugeot, Opel and DS.

The two companies said: "FCA and PSA Group warmly welcome the European Commission's approval of the authorized merger to establish Stellantis, which will become a world leader in the new mobility field. The merger is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

"The two companies said that shareholders of both parties will hold separate meetings on January 4 to approve the transaction.

FCA's controlling shareholder is Exor, the holding company of Italy's Agnelli family, and PSA's investors are the Peugeot family, the French government and China's Dongfeng Motor Group.

(Source: Gasgoo Nebula) 2. Bentley CEO: Compared with Porsche and Audi, it is more suitable for Gasgoo. According to foreign media reports, Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said that Bentley under the leadership of Audi is better than under the management of Porsche.

It will benefit more because Audi is more in line with its business focused on luxury cars.

(Image source: Bentley) All three brands are owned by the Volkswagen Group.

Audi will take over from Porsche and oversee Bentley on March 1 next year.

Volkswagen said in a statement on December 14: "This change will enable the two companies to achieve synergies and help these two high-end brands realize their electrification strategies." Hallmark said in an online conference on December 16: "In the future,

In 5 to 10 years, we will have more synergies with Audi than we do with Porsche, because Porsche is more sporty and we focus more on luxury cars than performance cars." Hallmark revealed that the Volkswagen Group has not yet decided whether Audi will supervise Bentley.

After that, it will follow Porsche's non-binding management and still hold shares in Bentley. "However, we think this is an opportunity, not a risk."

Adrian Hallmark (Image source: Bentley) Bentley hopes to use the Volkswagen Group's PPE high-end electric architecture to build most of its cars, and Audi is currently leading the research and development of this architecture.

Hallmark said Bentley did not invest in the development of the PPE platform or dictate its direction, "but what we have to do from the beginning is provide them with our requirements in detail from an engineering perspective."

Last month, Bentley said it would phase out internal combustion engine models and convert its entire model lineup to pure electric vehicles by 2030.

Bentley's first pure electric car will be launched in 2025 and will use the same platform as Audi, Porsche and Bentley's new flagship electric car Landjet.

Landjet is being developed by Audi's Artemis project.

Bentley's new relationship with Audi will change the way Bentley uses Volkswagen Group platforms.

Currently, Bentley's ContinentalGT? coupe and convertible and Flying? Spur sedan are based on the MSB platform designed by Porsche, and the Bentayga? SUV is built on the MLB platform developed by Audi.

Hallmark said: "We need to start designing after these architectures are mostly completed to produce existing models. The difference with this new electric architecture is that we are just starting to define what it needs to achieve." Bentley's EXP100 launched in 2019?

The GT concept car showcases the company's vision for a long-range luxury electric grand tourer.

Bentley has hinted that an electric car will have a higher range than conventional two- and four-door sedans.

When building the Continental GT and Flying Spur, Bentley struggled to adapt to aspects of the more performance-focused MSB platform, delaying the launch of the cars due to the integration of Porsche's PDK dual-clutch gearbox.

"One of the challenges we underestimated was optimizing transmissions for luxury models," Hallmark said in 2018.