Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares on Thursday, dismissed talks of a merger between Stellantis and Renault as ‘pure speculation,’ upon his visit to one of the French-Italian automaker’s hubs in eastern France, Reuters reported.
At an event in Paris, Renault CEO Luca de Meo refrained from offering comments on what he called ‘rumours.’
Sole 24 Ore, an Italian newspaper had carried news this week of how discussions of a tie-up had taken shape, with economies of scale seen as a plausible solution to managing the fierce competition that traditional automakers grappled with, Reuters noted.
Conjecture of an amalgamation between Stellantis and Renault came about earlier this year, with an Italian media report noting that the French government was assessing plans for a merger between the two companies. The French government is Renault’s biggest shareholder and also holds stake in Stellantis, the newswire noted.
Tavares and de Meo are both attending the Paris Motor Show opening on Oct. 14. Asked what he would discuss with Tavares at the event, De Meo replied: “I will greet him, as always.”