Did Stellantis just reveal the worst car logo of 2020?

From BMW to Nissan, via Kia, Roll-Royce and many more, 2020 has seen countless car manufacturers reveal new or updated logos. With car logos so instantly recognisable, creating a new one will always present a challenge to designers – but one new iteration has managed to leave us seriously underwhelmed. 

Fiat Chrysler's merger with PSA this year means that 14 different car brands, including Peugeot, Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo and Fiat, are now all owned by a single company: Stellantis. Surely a supergroup of 14 famous car brands deserves one of the best logos ever? Alas, it seems it wasn't to be.

Car logos

Some of the iconic car brand logos under the Stellantis umbrella  (Image credit: Stellantis)

Now, we wouldn't for a moment expect the design team to attempt to incorporate 14 logos into one (not even the best logos with hidden messages contain that many Easter eggs), but with such a plethora of iconic car brands under its (seat)belt, we'd have hoped the Stellantis logo would be somewhat exciting – or, at the very least, vehicular. But the new company's logo (below) is anything but.

Stellantis logo

Does this scream 'car brand' to you? (Image credit: Stellantis)

While Stellantis says in a press release that the new logo symbolises the "rich heritage" and "combined strengths" of the new group’s 14 brands, we're struggling to find a hint of heritage – or even strength – in the new design. Sure, the 'A' has had its crossbar removed, and there are a few decorative dots present (not 14, though – missing a trick there), but otherwise it's just a sans-serif typeface on a plain background. If you told us this was a financial services logo, we'd believe you.

And it seems we're not the only ones who don't feel like we're looking at a car logo. Users have taken to Twitter (below) to liken Stellantis to everything from a pharmaceutical company to a spaceship. 

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Perhaps it's a little unfair to compare Stellantis's logo with those of the car logos under its umbrella. Unlike those, the parent company's design is unlikely ever to grace a car bonnet – we won't be seeing a Stellantis Corsa any time soon.

That said, we'd have much preferred to see something a little more inspired, like BMW's brilliant new take on its famous logo, or even Kia's sleek new look. If Stellantis does decide to rebrand any time soon, the designers would do well to check out our guide to finding logo inspiration.

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Daniel Piper
Senior News Editor

Daniel Piper is Creative Bloq’s Senior News Editor. As the brand’s Apple authority, he covers all things Mac, iPhone, iPad and the rest. He also reports on the worlds of design, branding and tech. Daniel joined Future in 2020 (an eventful year, to say the least) after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more. Outside of Future, Daniel is a global poetry slam champion and has performed at festivals including Latitude, Bestival and more. He is the author of Arbitrary and Unnecessary: The Selected Works of Daniel Piper (Selected by Daniel Piper).