Disappointment is probably the prevailing emotion in Turin at the moment. Automotive group Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA, Turin / Italy; www.fcagroup.com) has surprisingly withdrawn its merger offer for competitor Renault (Boulogne-Billancourt / France; www.renault.de) – see Plasteurope.com of 30.05.2019 – after the French company's board postponed a decision to begin official talks. The crucial factor here was a request to that effect from representatives of the French government, which holds a 15% stake in Renault. Although Fiat is still convinced of the benefits of a merger, "it has become clear that the political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully," said the company, explaining the withdrawal.

Fiat Chrysler had proposed setting up a new company, in which both parties would hold half the shares. The resultant economies of scale would have been able to save billions on the purchasing side, and in addition, the development costs for autonomous and electrically powered cars could have been shared.

Only recently, US media reported that Fiat Chrysler and also General Motors had purchased zero-emissions vehicle credits from Tesla in order to improve their climate footprint and partly also to be able to comply with future EU emissions regulations.