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ROME, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler and France's Peugeot on Tuesday announced the makeup of the board of directors for Stellantis, the company to be launched next year when the two companies complete their much-anticipated merger.

John Elkann, Fiat Chrysler's president, will be the new company's president, while Peugeot head Carlos Tavares will be Stellantis' chief executive officer. Each of the two companies will have four other representatives on the 11-member board of directors, with the final post filed by independent director Henri de Castries, a former chairman and chief executive officer for insurance giant AXA, who was nominated by Peugeot.

The 50-billion-U.S.-dollar merger, which was first announced last year, has been slowed by the global coronavirus outbreak and the resulting economic slowdown, which has had an impact on the bottom line for both Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot. It is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021.

Based on figures from the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, Stellantis will be the world's fourth-largest producer of vehicles after the merger.

Stellantis is being billed as a merger of equals, though Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot bring different strong points to the deal. According to analysts, Fiat Chrysler's network in the United States will give Peugeot greater access to that market, while Peugeot will give Fiat more access to China and other Asian markets. Peugeot is also considered to be ahead of Fiat Chrysler in the development of electric-powered cars.

Earlier this year, Peugeot's Tavares said that "rethinking" the new company's strategy in the Chinese market was a priority. According to their own figures, Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot sold nearly 210,000 cars combined in China last year. Enditem