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PSA could sell Opel cars outside of Europe

3K views 37 replies 15 participants last post by  SierraGS 
#1 ·
PSA could sell Opel cars outside of Europe
February 23, 2017
Ania Nussbaum
AutoNews.com

PARIS -- PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares laid out his vision for Opel that could include expanding the German brand outside its European home market.

Tavares vowed to revive General Motors' European operations if PSA buy GM's Opel/Vauxhall business by carrying out a similar restructuring that brought the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars back from the brink over the past three years.

PSA would cut costs, combine development efforts and exploit the appeal of German engineering. Opel, based outside Frankfurt, could in turn serve as a growth driver with potential expansion beyond its home region, a role that was limited under GM.

CONTINUE AT LINK ABOVE
 
#2 · (Edited)
This is obvious and a no-brainer.

Part of what "ails" Opel is not just expensive manufacturing, difficult work rules, and Europe's over-regulated marketplace; but Opel's limited reach and footprint. If Opel's operations in Europe were "officially combined" with Buick's own balance sheets (and, arguably, Holden's books) the division would be much more profitable. That isn't the case. You can't build your vehicles almost exclusively in Europe, depend on the cut-throat European market for almost all your sales, and expect to keep the books balanced. It's not a good recipe for financial stability. They need to sell more outside of Europe to survive, and hopefully PSA can exploit the brand to do that.

Automotive News said:
Combining with Opel would improve PSA's competitiveness abroad, allowing the French automaker to offer a German alternative to customers who don't want to buy a French brand, Tavares said. Asked if Opel cars could eventually be sold outside of Europe, including in the U,S., Tavares said selling Opels outside its European home was a possibility, but he did not mention the U.S. market in his answer.
And that's why this might actually work. French cars, like Italian automobiles, have a stigma and reputation that has lingered for decades. Even if the reality is that most of their wares are better than they've ever been, the perception lingers.

German cars, on the other hand, have a near-sterling reputation for quality and dependability; especially outside of Europe. In exploiting the Opel brand, I could imagine that PSA will lean heavily on their "German-ness" to push the brand to the US, China, and beyond. If all the oil-bits are shared with other PSA products, any expansion will only help rationalize any future shared platforms and help create a bit boost to the bottom line.

Honestly, this might actually work. Kudos to Taveres for thinking outside the box.
 
#3 ·
Assuming GM retains some sort of minority stake after the sale, this could really work out all around...
 
#7 ·
The message that Carlos Tavares is sending is between the lines, not in the actual words of his comment. That is because for much of the World, Opel is GM. Opel sells cars under the Opel or Vauxhall brand in 51 countries including 10 outside Europe. The actual report makes this clear.

PSA intends to use Opel to expand its non-European operations, not initiate them. It appears that he will push Opel rather than PSA's Citroen, Peugeot, and DS in this effort. If this is the case, then I can see internal conflicts arising. PSA officers, workers, and the French government officials who subsidize PSA may resent Opel--which they will view as a failed brand--getting first dibs on overseas expansion at the expense of their own more successful operations.

We may have some interesting days ahead.
 
#20 ·
Doubt it.

Opel/PSA/Vauxhall will become the new "Airbus" and thrive in the future as the players and their governments see the long term gains possible combining the best that France, Germany and the UK bring to the new company.

GM will be the next McDonnell Douglass and be swallowed up by Ford.
 
#8 ·
PSA could sell Opel cars outside of Europe
February 23, 2017
Ania Nussbaum
[URL="http://www.autonews.com/article/20170223/COPY01/302239941/psa


I still think there is something we don't know about GME's never ending losses. I see PSA has just reported net income of 1.73bn Euros for last year. What is GME doing wrong? Creative accounting or just pure managerial incompetence.
 
#9 · (Edited)
In another thread I suggested a backwards merger, could this be a possibility where Opel Vauxhall
is transferred to PSA and GM takes stock in PSA?

GM would then be free of direct exposure to Opel Vauxhall's continued losses and pension obligations while
being free to continue negotiations between itself and PSA with regards ongoing product cycles.
 
#18 ·
This guy is sharp, and really knows what he is getting for nothing.

He will prove what Opel is capable of in all global markets since he does not care about how it affects Cadillac or Chevy in particular and will take Opel's German heritage to new levels in many new markets, markets that GM should have had Opel in for the last 20 years.

Carlos will make the hard decisions that GM would not since he has the smarts and the stones to make them.

Hope PSA offers Opels in the U.S., I will buy one in a heartbeat.
 
#38 ·
All PSA has to do is build a plant (or two) in the U.S. (very likely) and Trump will receive them with open arms.

The guy running PSA knows exactly what he is doing and has already developed a global strategy to grow Opel-PSA and trust me, it looks a lot like my Buick/GMC/Holden/Opel/Vauxhall plan with the difference being that he will implement it.
 
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