After yesterday’s speculative report from German publication Der Spiegel stating that GM/Opel and PSA Peugeot Citröen will not produce next-generation mid size vehicles at GM’s Ruesselsheim plant in Germany, Opel released the following statement on the matter:
Rüsselsheim. While we will not comment on all the details because of the speculative nature of the story “GM hampers alliance between Opel and PSA” published on Spiegel Online, we want to clarify some general facts.
In contrast to what Spiegel Online claims, this is not an alliance between Opel and PSA, but a global alliance between GM and PSA. And one of the main reasons why GM entered the alliance with PSA was to create synergies in and for Europe and therefore support the Opel/Vauxhall business. Not the opposite.
From the start, the alliance has been focused on three pillars: logistics, purchasing and product development. After an agreement on logistics was reached earlier this year, we are now working on a purchasing agreement and we are studying a number of engineering projects. From those under study, we will select those that make most sense and that are ultimately resulting in the best possible cars for our customers. No decisions have been made, so any claim about alleged previous or new plans, are entirely wrong.
Manufacturing projects are not part of the existing Alliance agreement so we have nothing to say about manufacturing.
The GM Authority Take
As we mentioned in the GM Authority take yesterday, the existing GM-PSA alliance does not, in fact, include any plans for joint manufacturing efforts. In addition, it’s good to know that the alliance partners are currently working on a purchasing agreement, following the completion of a logistics agreement, while studying viability of engineering projects — and that no decisions have been made, at least as of yesterday. So the rumored joint manufacturing and/or development projects for the next-gen Zafira and Insignia should be taken with a grain of salt… for now.
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