The PSA Group's acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall from GM (General Motors), which began in March, is concluded.
Now with two more brands in its portfolio, the PSA Group becomes the second largest European manufacturer behind the Volkswagen group. The combined sales of Peugeot, Citroën, DS and now Opel and Vauxhall secure a 17% share of the European market in the first half.
It was also announced that within 100 days, next November, a strategic plan for the two new brands will be presented.
This plan will be driven by the potential for synergies within the group itself, estimating that they could save around €1.7 billion per year in the medium term.
The immediate objective is to get Opel and Vauxhall back to profits.
In 2016 the losses were 200 million euros and, according to official statements, the objective will be to achieve operating profits and reach an operating margin of 2% in 2020, a margin that is expected to grow to 6% by 2026.
Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo PSAToday, we are making a commitment to Opel and Vauxhall at a new stage in the development of the PSA Group. [...] We will seize the opportunity to support each other and gain new customers by implementing the performance plan that Opel and Vauxhall will develop.
Michael Lohscheller is the new CEO of Opel and Vauxhall, who is joined by four PSA executives in the administration. It is also part of Lohscheller's goals to achieve a leaner management structure, reducing complexity and increasing execution speed.
Only the acquisition of GM Financial's European operations remains to be concluded, which are still awaiting validation by the regulatory authorities, and completion is scheduled for this year.
What can we expect from the new Opel?
For now, there are agreements that have been established that allow Opel to continue selling products, such as the Astra or the Insignia, models that use technology and components that are GM's intellectual property. Likewise, agreements were drawn up to continue the supply of specific models for the Australian Holden and the American Buick, which are no longer Opel models with another symbol.
The integration of the two brands will involve the use of PSA bases progressively, as the models reach the end of their life cycle and are replaced. We can see this reality in advance with the Opel Crossland X and Grandland X, which use the base of the Citroën C3 and Peugeot 3008 respectively.
GM and PSA are also expected to collaborate in the development of electric propulsion systems and, potentially, the PSA Group may have access to fuel cell systems from the resulting partnership between GM and Honda.
More detailed aspects of the future strategy will be known in November, which will also have to refer to the fate of the six production units and five component production units that Opel and Vauxhall have in Europe. For now, there is the promise that no production unit has to be closed, or that there have to be redundancies, taking instead measures to improve their efficiency.
Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo PSAToday we are witnessing the birth of a true European champion. [...] We will unleash the power of these two iconic brands and the potential of their current talent. Opel will remain German and Vauxhall British. They fit perfectly into our current portfolio of French brands.