MILAN—John Elkann, chairman of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, learned a lesson from the Italian-American car maker’s longtime Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, who died last year: Merge and grow, or fade into irrelevance.
Five months after a failed merger attempt with Renault SA, Mr. Elkann, the U.S.-born heir of the Agnelli dynasty that founded Fiat, is once more front and center as he personally negotiates with Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares about a $46 billion merger that would create the world’s fourth-largest car maker.
Italian technology marries French industrial expertise...what could possibly go wrong?