Opel/Vauxhall News: Rumorpile: PSA Group's Plan for Opel/Vauxhall

[William Maley]

On Thursday, Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller will be presenting a new restructuring plan for its future under the PSA Group umbrella. Thanks a report from German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, we have some idea of what this plan entails.

According to the paper, Opel will be cutting down on the models it offers and begin to focus on high-margin segments. The brand will also be tasked with developing technology for partial and complete electrification of all PSA Group models. To pull this off, Opel’s Rüsselsheim tech center will become the central point for the development of this tech.

Other parts of the plan outlined in Frankfurter Allgemeine's report include,

• Combining the purchasing activities of the two companies
• Launching Opel into new markets (this was considered to be too taboo for GM)
• Cut labor costs
• Reduce the amount of discounting for new vehicles
• Future models to use platforms, engines, and transmissions from PSA

Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Automotive News Europe (Subscription Required)

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[Drew Dowdell]

So Opel may return to the US after all?  I think it would probably do better than Peugot or Citroen

[Robert Hall]

Mmm..given Opel's GM history, it would be very weird to see a non-GM Opel brand in the US...unless they would be trying to spin it's German nature in advertising/branding.   (Though I'd rather see one of the French brands come here, like DS or Peugeot).

[G. David Felt]

Wonder if they will use the BOLT platform, I think not  or build their own EV platform.

[Drew Dowdell]

They have the Bolt EV for Opel that will likely run through its current product cycle, but I doubt they'd be allowed to use the platform for any other cars except maybe the Buick EV if that was far enough along in the development process already,. 

[daves87rs]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

So Opel may return to the US after all?  I think it would probably do better than Peugot or Citroen

Would depend if they could really make money here. I am figuring the really only open part of the market right now is going to be the entry level ones....which I expect china market cars to take..

[Drew Dowdell]

5 minutes ago, daves87rs said:

Would depend if they could really make money here. I am figuring the really only open part of the market right now is going to be the entry level ones....which I expect china market cars to take..

No one wants to build entry level cars anymore. 

[William Maley]

53 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

No one wants to build entry level cars anymore. 

Not even entry-level crossovers?

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, William Maley said:

Not even entry-level crossovers?

Well, I did say cars. Entry crossovers start 15% to 25% higher than the entry level sedans or hatches for what is a mechanically identical vehicle.

Sonic base price = $15,295 / Trax base price = $21,000.

Fit = $16,190 / HR-V = $19,465

Jetta $18,645 / Tiguan Limited (old model) $21,995

 

[daves87rs]

8 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

No one wants to build entry level cars anymore. 

What people want and what they can afford are two different things.

And while no companies here in the US want to, doesn't mean there is not a market for it.

Feature rich product people could actually afford and not lease might be bigger than people think....

[Drew Dowdell]

6 hours ago, daves87rs said:

What people want and what they can afford are two different things.

And while no companies here in the US want to, doesn't mean there is not a market for it.

Feature rich product people could actually afford and not lease might be bigger than people think....

I'm sure there is a market for it, but not one that manufacturers can make money on. 

[G. David Felt]

7 hours ago, daves87rs said:

What people want and what they can afford are two different things.

And while no companies here in the US want to, doesn't mean there is not a market for it.

Feature rich product people could actually afford and not lease might be bigger than people think....

Yet with lease focused companies like MB and BMW, you can get so called luxury auto's cheap and the lower income folks tend to go that route to pretend they have money rather than look at the entry level auto's. In some ways the 90%+ leasing of certain models by certain brands (german)  has created a problem with a glut of auto's in the cpo market and expectations of why should I accept an entry level auto when I can squeeze the payments to have a luxury ride.

[daves87rs]

16 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I'm sure there is a market for it, but not one that manufacturers can make money on. 

True, but they could be China built...

Could even take a loss to get that foot in the door too....

16 hours ago, dfelt said:

Yet with lease focused companies like MB and BMW, you can get so called luxury auto's cheap and the lower income folks tend to go that route to pretend they have money rather than look at the entry level auto's. In some ways the 90%+ leasing of certain models by certain brands (german)  has created a problem with a glut of auto's in the cpo market and expectations of why should I accept an entry level auto when I can squeeze the payments to have a luxury ride.

Yeah, it's going to suck to be them in a few years.....going to bite them in the butt good.

You'd think they would just do something more with the actual product- status products don't always have a long shelf life....