Opel and Vauxhall have officially been erased from General Motors’ once-sprawling portfolio of brands. While executives in Detroit may be relieved the financial burden has been cast off with the sale of Opel, PSA Groupe has big plans for its latest acquisitions.
In a release, in which the Opel brand and PSA declared a “European champion” has been born, PSA Groupe stated Opel’s operations will return to profitability in 2020. Specifically, a 2 percent operating margin will be achieved by 2020, and a six percent margin is the goal by 2026.
Although the Opel and Vauxhall brands seemingly compete with PSA’s Peugeot and Citroen, PSA believes Opel and Vauxhall unlock a new customer: one that would never consider a French car.
“We will unleash the power of these iconic brands and the huge potential of its existing talents. 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,” PSA Chairman of the board Carlos Tavares said.
Opel spent 88 years of its existence under GM leadership, which makes the transition truly a new era for the storied German car maker. Should PSA succeed in doing what GM couldn’t—that is, a return to profitability—it could make for some interesting feelings around the GM Renaissance Center.
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We’ve all seen how Germany’s Angela Merkel treats Donald Trump and her unwillingness to spend the money to defend her own country which means the United States needs to do more heavy lifting and this has been the situation with Opel as Germans just didn’t respect the brand and whether this will change with PSA owning Opel is anyone’s guess.
I am afraid the problem here is GM’s management interference with Opel. The Germans seem to understand how to manage automobile companies with a long term perspective. They appreciate the importance of good design and quality construction and listening to customers. I’m not sure, but maybe a good example could be Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, or Porsche.
Why doesn’t the USA stop her “heavy lifting” around the globe and meddling in other nation’s affairs by simply withdrawing her military behind her own borders?
That could open an area oft peace for humanity and this planet.
Why doesn’t the USA stop her “heavy lifting” around the globe and meddling in other nation’s affairs by simply withdrawing her military behind her own borders?
That could open an era of peace for humanity and this planet.
Ex-Shareholder, in the case of Opel Group, I would respectfully have to disagree.
At times it seemed like the German management were running the company as an institution, instead of a business. Presenting concept cars they then couldn’t viably productionise (Opel GT anyone?), commissioning cat and supermodel calendars, closing more productive plants (i.e. Luton Car Assembly) to save less productive plants (e.g. Russelheim), ill-conceived and poorly executed adventures in Australia and China, poor quality control – which is something I personally know something about having had the misfortune to previously own an Opel manufactured Vauxhall Insignia – misaligning production costs with sales revenue…
…and there’s so very much more where that all came from.
As a past and current Vauxhall owner, the issue with Opel Group appeared not so much to be GM Detroit’s interference, more their lack of interference and a fear of German trade unions. It still seems incredible to believe that anyone could allow an operating subsidiary to lose money for nigh on 20 years without addressing the issue for once and for all. And to make matters worse, for at least some of those years, General Motors UK (i.e. the Vauxhall operation) was profitable whilst Opel Group overall was loss making, so the total reported losses actually flattered the company!
German management was GM management. GM management in Europe and North America bowed for the last fifty years to the union’s. Looking at all the expelled GM entities they have turned around under new management. Time will tell the Opel story.
100% correct John
Although the Opel and Vauxhall brands seemingly compete with PSA’s Peugeot and Citroen, PSA believes Opel and Vauxhall unlock a new customer: one that would never consider a French car. Thanks your information