The terms of the deal that was all but confirmed got some real weight yesterday as PSA and General Motors announced that the Vauxhall and Opel brands will be changing hands to now be under the stewardship of the French automotive group.
The PSA family who own and operate Peugeot, Citroen, and more recently minted DS will also now extend to include Opel and Vauxhall in exchange for 2.2 billion Euros or 3.06 billion AUD. Following this, General Motors will no longer have a European presence, ceding its production concerns there to the new proprietor and ending a 90 year run.
It also propels the PSA Group into a much larger volume seller with a combined 17 percent European market market share that now places it second only to Volkswagen, and leaving overtaking French marque Renault, who themselves are partnered with Nissan (and now Mitsubishi).
The Citroen and Peugeot maker said it planned to turn around both unprofitable brands, targeting an operating margin of 6 percent by 2026 driven by a projected 1.7 billion Euros in join cost savings.
PSA’s CEO Carlos Tavares assured Opel and Vauxhall workers that jobs losses would not be an outcome of this deal: "We respect all that Opel/Vauxhall's talented people have achieved as well as the company's fine brands and strong heritage. We intend to manage PSA and Opel/Vauxhall capitalizing on their respective brand identities.”
Opel had previously inked a deal in 2012 to develop cars built upon PSA platforms. These are only just coming to fruition with the Opel Crossland X and the larger Grandland X, based on the 2008 and 3008, respectively.
GM’s involvement with Opel and Vauxhall and indeed PSA isn’t over, though, as there will still need to be an exchange of technologies and components in order to continue manufacturing some current showroom models. Within the next decade, though, it expects the transition to be complete as all existing cars will be replaced with all-new models and ending a temporary dependence on the American automaker.
With regards to how Holden will be shaped as a result of this deal, there are still quite a number of unknowns. In the short term, though, all plans to deliver models such as the Opel-derived Commodore and Astra will be honoured through the aforementioned licensing deal with GM.
Further, GM has confirmed that the rollout for models such as the upcoming Chevrolet-sourced Equinox and GMC-sourced Acadia bound for the Australian market later this year will not be effected.
A statement from Holden reads: “Holden and Opel have had close ties for many years and delivered fantastic vehicles to Australian customers, including the current all-new Astra and the next-generation Commodore due in 2018. The good news is these product programs are not affected at all.”
“We will continue to work closely with Opel and GM to deliver our vehicle plans with excellence and precision. This includes future, new right-hand-drive SUVs like the Equinox and Acadia that were engineered specifically for right-hand drive markets.”
The move over the last few years to include more models based GM’s North American brands may have been an early sign of preparation for a future shift in strategy, resulting in less dependence for Holden on Opel-sourced vehicles aside from the Astra NG Commodore.
