Stellantis To Prioritize Chrysler Rather Than Bring Peugeot To The US

Plans to bring the Peugeot brand to the United States are off the table, according to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Instead, the merged FCA and PSA intend to focus on reinvigorating the Chrysler marque in America.

In a media call, Tavares spoke about the new plan for Peugeot in the US. "For the time being, I don't think that is part of the things that we want to prioritize for the next time window," he said, according to Car and Driver. "I think it's better that we funnel the talent, the capital, and the engineering capability of our Stellantis company to the existing brands to improve what needs to be improved and to accelerate where we need to accelerate because we already have a very strong presence in this market."

Tavares also identified Chrysler as "one of the three historical pillars of Stellantis," along with Fiat and Peugeot. Regarding the American brand, "We are eager, and I am eager, to give this brand a future," Tavares said, according to Car and Driver.

Previously, there were rumors about Stellantis killing off the Chrysler brand. However, later news contradicted the reports of the death for the venerable American nameplate.

It's not entirely clear what the future of Chrysler looks like. Currently, the brand has three (two, really) products: the Pacifica minivan, Voyager minivan, and 300 sedan. In 2020, the brand moved 110,464 vehicles, down 13 percent from 2019. Of those, there were 93,802 deliveries of the Pacifica – a 4-percent drop – and 16,653 deliveries for the 300 – a 43-percent decrease.

There are already indications that the 300 is getting close to retirement. For the 2021 model year, Chrysler is cutting the high-end Limited and 300C trim levels from the sedan's lineup. This just leaves the Touring and S grades. If sales keep falling, don't expect it to stick around for too much longer.