French and Italian automaking families join forces as a spate of partnerships are revealed at the end of the decade.
The fourth largest global automotive company will be created by the recent 50/50 merger of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Peugeot. With annual unit sales of 8.7m vehicles and revenues of nearly €170bn, the combined company claims a recurring operating profit of over €11bn and an operating profit margin of 6.6%. The new Group will also have much greater geographic balance with 46% of revenues derived from Europe and 43% from North America.
The deal comes following FCA's thwarted attempt last year to merge with Peugeot's rival, Renault. The new alliance also brings together two automotive families - the Peugeots, who hold 12.2% of PSA, and the Agnelli's who have a 29% stake in FCA. It will also bring together additional car marques including Citroen, Vauxhall-Opel, Jeep, Lancia, Dodge and Maserati.
Meanwhile Pennzoil-Quaker State Co's SOPUS products division, a subsidiary of Shell, has purchased the assets of American Chemical Technologies Inc (ACT). The family-run company manufactures and distributes industrial fluids that are based on core glycol chemistries. Product focuses on the primary metals and power sectors and the deal includes acquisition of ACT's two manufacturing plants in Michigan and Kentucky. The business will operate as ACT for a transitional period
Back in 2006, Akwa Group and Chevron formed a joint venture called Afriquia Lubrifiants. Now Chevron has raised its stake by 25%, giving the two companies have a 50-50 split. There are plans to expand into French-speaking Africa, including Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Tunisia, Senegal, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Benin, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We want to draw up agreements with local retailers and the overall potential has been tentatively estimated at 600,000 tonnes per year in these countries. Our partners from Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire are currently in Morocco to negotiate the clauses of the future partnership”, said Mustapha Miri, managing director of Afriquia Lubrifiants.
A 50-50 Memorandum of Understanding has also been signed to form a joint venture between LyondellBasell Industries NV and China's Sinopec. The two companies will build a new propylene oxide and styrene monomer unit it Zhenhai, Ningbo, China. The proposed plant is expected to produce 300,000 tonnes/year of PO and 600,000 tpy of SM and is intended for the Chinese domestic market.
And finally, a partnership has been established between Renault and Castrol India for the supply of exclusive, jointly branded aftersales engine oil lubricants in India. The Renault Castrol product range will be available nationally across Renault dealerships from 1st January 2020.