Shareholders in French automaker PSA approved Monday a merger with US-Italian group Fiat Chrysler, a move that will create the world's fourth-largest carmaker by volume.

Approval for the three merger resolutions tabled at PSA's annual shareholder meeting -- held online -- was nearly unanimous to form the new company, baptised "Stellantis," PSA chief Carlos Tavares said.

Fiat Chrysler shareholders are due to vote on the deal at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT), and Tavares said the date for making the merger operational would be announced "very soon."

The accord brings together PSA's Peugeot, Citroen and other brands with Fiat Chrysler's stable that includes their namesake brands as well as Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

The companies say cost-sharing and other synergies will allow them to save billions of euros each year, while giving them a larger combined footprint in Europe and the US.

By number of cars sold, Stellantis will now rank behind Volkswagen, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, and Toyota -- though it will be the third-largest automaker by revenue.

"I have rarely felt as much as today that I am experiencing a historic moment," the PSA chairman, Louis Gallois, said after the vote.

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