While FCA South Africa has been under a single management team since 2012 in line with the global merger, Fiat Group Automobiles South Africa (Pty) Ltd. and Chrysler South Africa (Pty) Ltd. have been operating as separate financial entities.

The administrative merger of the entities from 1 May 2018 will formalise Fiat Chrysler Automobiles South Africa (Pty) Ltd. as a single trading entity.

"We're excited to enter the next phase of FCA in South Africa," says Robin van Rensburg, CEO of FCA South Africa. "For our customers, it will be business as usual with even more improvement in service levels thanks to the simpler and more effective systems. Our dealers and partners have invested with us over the past six years to get to this point and this will allow them to become even more effective."

FCA South Africa is responsible for the sales and after-sales business of the Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fiat Professional, MOPAR, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands.

MOPAR won the Gold Achiever Award for Excellence in Logistics in 2017 and FCA's first-time pick rate remains the industry benchmark in South Africa, benefiting customer experience directly with aftersales service efficiency.

The product future for FCA South Africa is bright. 2018 will see the introduction of the new Jeep Compass and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV in the third quarter.

Also coming to this market will be the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, the most powerful and quickest Jeep SUV ever which is powered by the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 engine delivering 522kW and 868Nm of torque, while the venerable Jeep Wrangler replacement will make its debut appearance in late 2018.

"We have created a vision to take us forward into 2020 in a sustainable and profitable manner, having learnt some valuable lessons from the past," said Van Rensburg. "Customers will only benefit from this merger and the dealer network will remain unchanged. FCA's brands will continue to succeed in the market and we look forward to the journey with our customers, dealers and partners."