Opel is officially no longer a General Motors brand, and that means changes are inbound to the German brand’s future. On deck after only two days since the sale is the next generation, Opel Corsa F.
CarScoops reports the Corsa F, which was expected as a 2019 model, will now show face around 2020 as PSA Group, Opel’s new owner, switches the vehicle to a PSA platform. This will likely be the first vehicle to arrive under Opel’s new French ownership.
Opel already has two PSA-based products through a prior General Motors-PSA strategic alliance in the 2018 Opel Crossland X and the upcoming Grandland X, but PSA will continue to transition Opel’s entire lineup to PSA platforms, powertrains and technology with five more PSA-based Opels through 2023, according to the report.
Existing Opel models, all based on GM platforms and technology, will ride out their lifecycles, and in the meantime, may not be sold in new markets by PSA, per a non-compete agreement as part of the sale. That means we won’t see an Opel or PSA-based Opel hit the United States anytime soon, folks. The same goes for GM, which cannot introduce a new vehicle in the European market with similar technologies already underpinning its Opel products.
Opel will also continue to supply vehicles for Buick and Holden per the agreement, which means Holden’s imported Commodore and North America’s Buick Regal are safe for the immediate future.
Comments
I thought corsa was never under gamma?
The use of PSA floorpans and powertrains makes inherent sense. There’s little point in developing different tech which fundamentally satisfy the same requirement. And in fairness to PSA, they’ve managed to create a generation of Citroens and Peugeots which share the same underpinnings but look and feel like very different cars.
Question is though… where does this leave Opel’s IDTC at Russelheim? Might Opel Group’s loss be Hyundai’s gain?
And where ultimately in a world where sales of conventionally fuelled cars will decline, does it leave Opel Group’s engine and transmission building facilities at Kaiserslautern, Tychy, Aspern, Russelheim and St. Gotthard?
It was on these new D2xx chassis,now all opel and vaxhaull models will be on PSA chassis. Once that happen gm can sale cars in Europe .
Np, the Corsa was built with the “Common Components for Small Cars” (or so) which were jointly developed by Opel and FIAT in the time when there was an alliance FIAT-GM with a crossover capital participation.
The Corsa F would finally be on a global GM platform, but that might be over now and being replaced by using PSA’s small car platform.
I’m still surprised by the deal seeing as Corsa should be Chevrolet Sail in China, and more than 20% of Opel-based cars are sold in the middle kingdom.
I’m curious to see how Russellhein will be used. Any word yet on whether Mark Adams is staying with Opel or GM?