Photo: Peugeot
As if the creation of PSA wasn’t enough to rob both Peugeot and Citroen of all-but the last bit of French charm, there are dark times ahead for both brands, and the group as a whole. According to autocar.co.uk, Vauxhall-Opel and Peugeot-Citroen may become one single entity.
Yes, that’s right, the four brands would basically be condensed into one big ‘group’, which would just use one or two platforms, and then rebadge everything. The plan would come into action, with GM owning a 30% stake of the joint venture, pushing some €7.68 into product development.
This is the least extreme of a few plans, proposed to get things going again, as both Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot-Citroen are reporting dwindling sales and no really positive prospect for the near future. The other plans were much more aggressive, with Opel being sold completely to PSA, or GM buying PSA altogether.
The American giant already owns 7% of PSA, so they are already ‘wedged in’. Now, while this may save the companies involved, the cars they would eventually end up making will surely not please those who used to like and appreciate French cars for their very special character. If the joint-venture would go through, PSA would still have a controlling share of 70%, so perhaps the situation wouldn’t be as bad as we are projecting.
Currently, both GM and PSA are losing money, with the former expected to lose upward of €1.2-billion by the end of 2012, while PSA is reportedly throwing some €200-million out the window every month. There is still hope, however, as this is just informed speculation at the moment, we hope the joint-venture doesn’t materialize, as it will be the final nail in the originality coffin of PSA.
This is the least extreme of a few plans, proposed to get things going again, as both Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot-Citroen are reporting dwindling sales and no really positive prospect for the near future. The other plans were much more aggressive, with Opel being sold completely to PSA, or GM buying PSA altogether.
The American giant already owns 7% of PSA, so they are already ‘wedged in’. Now, while this may save the companies involved, the cars they would eventually end up making will surely not please those who used to like and appreciate French cars for their very special character. If the joint-venture would go through, PSA would still have a controlling share of 70%, so perhaps the situation wouldn’t be as bad as we are projecting.
Currently, both GM and PSA are losing money, with the former expected to lose upward of €1.2-billion by the end of 2012, while PSA is reportedly throwing some €200-million out the window every month. There is still hope, however, as this is just informed speculation at the moment, we hope the joint-venture doesn’t materialize, as it will be the final nail in the originality coffin of PSA.
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