To international business now,... and Fiat Chrysler says it has submitted a proposal to the board of Renault for a 50/50 merger of the auto giants.
The merger would create one of the biggest automakers in the world.
Our Park Hee-jun has the details. Fiat Chrysler is pushing for a merger with Renault,... which would make the resulting company the world's number 3 automaker - with a combined value of about 37 billion U.S. dollars.
It was announced Monday that the Italian automaker made the proposal to its French rival.
According to Fiat,... the deal would allow the new European automaker giant to sell 8-point-7 million cars annually.
It will also generate 5-point-6 billion U.S. dollars in estimated annual savings.
The two companies would be merged with a 50-50 ownership under a Dutch holding company.

The tie-up is seen as a way to respond to the difficulties automakers face today,... caused by expensive technologies involving autonomous driving and tightening emissions.
Competition with carmakers like Tesla and car-sharing services are also hurting global sales.
The merger would also cut the expenses for research and development as well as expand their fading presence in key regions.
"The auto industry has several problems the emissions tax, cost control and also an over capacity, I find. Should Fiat and Renault merge, there would be a strong base with Chrysler in the United States, in Europe with Fiat and Renault and in Asia with Nissan."

Renault said in a statement that the board will hold discussions to decide whether to go ahead with the "friendly" proposal.
But the process is likely to take as much as a year to finalize.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.