Groupe PSA CEO Carlos Tavares and Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller |
Opel / Vauxhall - One Year as Part of Groupe PSA |
Opel will be profitable and invest in sites
After
just under one year as part of Groupe PSA, Opel/Vauxhall is back in the
black. The recurring operating margin for the first half of 2018 is 5.0
per cent. This clearly shows that PACE! is working. The competitiveness
of the production plants throughout Europe was significantly improved.
Together with the social partners, Opel management has reached
performance agreements at all European sites. This has already led to
new investment decisions and product allocations across Europe.
For
example, the new Opel/Vauxhall Corsa – also in an electric version – will be produced
exclusively at the Spanish plant in Zaragoza. The next generation of
the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro will roll off the assembly line in Luton, England, from 2019. Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X SUV will be manufactured in Eisenach from the middle of
next year – including a hybrid version that will follow by 2020. New
product allocations were also announced for the engine and transmission
plants in Tichy (Poland), Aspern (Austria) and Szentgotthard (Hungary).
Details of the planned investments in Rüsselsheim and Kaiserslautern
will be announced in due course.
Important role for Rüsselsheim Engineering Center
The
successful integration of Opel/Vauxhall into Groupe PSA is also
reflected in the engineering organisation. The Engineering Center in
Rüsselsheim plays an important role in the company and contributes
typical Opel strengths to the group's global development network. With
15 Centers of Competence for various areas of technology and
responsibility for the development of light commercial vehicles as well
as the next generation of four-cylinder petrol engines, the Rüsselsheim
Engineering Center assumes global responsibility for the entire Groupe
PSA. The abilities of the various competence teams ideally complement
each other as part of a global network – for the benefit of all five
group brands (Opel, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën and DS Automobiles). In
addition, all new Opel/Vauxhall vehicles will be developed in
Rüsselsheim in the future.
“At Opel/Vauxhall, the group's top
technologies meet German engineering excellence. This results in
outstanding vehicles with a clear profile and emotional design,” says
Lohscheller. “We have always stressed that Opel remains German and
Vauxhall remains British. We have further sharpened our brands in the
past twelve months and I am very much looking forward to our new concept
car, with which we will present our future brand face.”
Successful new models – electrification of the product portfolio
The
collaboration between the development teams is well-received by
customers. With the Crossland X, Mokka X and Grandland X models,
Opel/Vauxhall is superbly positioned in the high-growth SUV market and
leads the European SUV B segment, among others. The Opel and Vauxhall
brands thus contribute to Groupe PSA’s successful SUV offensive with the
X Family. In the first half of 2018, these models accounted for 167,200
vehicles sold by both brands.
Opel/Vauxhall continues its product offensive in Europe. Following the launch of the sporty Insignia GSi, the company will also launch a GSi version of the Corsa in the second half of the year.
The new Combo Life passenger version and Combo commercial vehicle will also bring important momentum for growth.
Next year, the all-new Corsa will follow – including a purely battery-powered electric version in 2020, which means that Opel/Vauxhall will already have four electrified vehicles on offer in 2020. By 2024, an electrified version will be available in every European passenger car line, either with pure battery drive or as a plug-in hybrid. This will be possible by the prompt use of Groupe PSA's multi-energy group platforms.
With new importers in Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa and Lebanon, the company forges ahead with its goal of doubling sales outside of Europe by 2020. Opel models will be assembled in Namibia from the second half of the year. By the middle of the next decade, more than ten per cent of Opel's sales volume is to be generated outside of Europe. The company also successfully uses existing Groupe PSA structures for these activities.
[1] recurring operating income
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