The sale of Opel and Vauxhall by General Motors to PSA Group has been finalised.
PSA stated that the marques will continue to be operated as true iconic German and British brands.
“It is a historic day,” said Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller. “We are proud to join Groupe PSA and are now opening a new chapter in our history after 88 years with General Motors.
“The combination of our strengths will enable us to turn Opel and Vauxhall into a profitable and self-funded business. We have set ourselves the clear target of returning to profitability by 2020.”
PSA Chairman of the board Carlos Tavares, said: “We will assist Opel and Vauxhall’s return to profitability and aim to set new industry benchmarks together.
“Opel will remain German, Vauxhall will remain British. They are the perfect fit to our existing portfolio of French brands Peugeot, Citroën and DS Automobiles.”
As already assured when the contract was signed in March, all employee codetermination rights will remain unchanged.
The Opel/Vauxhall management team will now work on a plan for the future in the next 100 days. Synergies within the Groupe PSA, for example in purchasing and development, are set to play a major part.
PSA and Opel/Vauxhall have been working together since 2012. The cooperation so far includes four vehicles. The first model, Crossland X, has been available at dealerships since the end of June. The Grandland X SUV in the next higher segment follows in early 2018. The successor of the Vauxhall Combo light commercial vehicle will come onto the market next year and as of 2019 the next generation of the Corsa will be launched.
Opel/Vauxhall and PSA Group will continue to work with General Motors in the future. In addition to development in the area of electric propulsion, Opel plants will continue to produce vehicles for the GM brands Buick and Holden.
Hugh Hatrick - 01/08/2017 14:44
I think the government's plan to ban diesel and petrol cars from 2040 is yet another silly and virtue-signalling piece of nonsense that will simply put our great car manufacturers under unneccessary pressure and may force some to move elsewhere. We can easily reduce congestion and pollution by replaceing many traffic light junctions with roundabouts and let people who car share use bus lanes or just remove them altogether. We need to cut the red tape which puts huge costs on public transport and by doing so more people will actually use the bus/tram etc.