PARIS – The General Motors-PSA Peugeot Citroen Alliance is working to create synergies between PSA and Chevrolet, but not Opel, according to an unsourced story in the respected French magazine L’Usine Nouvelle.
For the past six months since the partnership was formed between the two auto makers, the media has assumed PSA would be working with GM’s German subsidiary, Opel, to solve their capacity problems, including shutting some plants.
“For several weeks,” the magazine reports, “it is a completely different scenario that working groups set up by the two manufacturers are writing. The Opel brand is not part of the scope of the alliance, or even at the edge of it.
“According to sources familiar with the matter, PSA would develop future platforms with General Motors and its global brand, Chevrolet. PSA would focus on small models and Chevrolet on sedans and SUVs.”
Chevrolet is a better fit than Opel, the story says, because the brand’s global footprint and high volumes mean lower production costs that could solve some of PSA’s financial problems.
The French auto maker is looking to shed more than 10,000 domestic jobs and close its plant in Aulnay-sous-Bois north of Paris as it struggles to halt mounting costs.
Workers reportedly will hold a general meeting at the facility on Sept. 11 to decide on what action to take in response to PSA’s plans, including conducting a protest at the Paris auto show later this month.
The article, written by Pauline Ducamp, says that since 2008, “General Motors has been dragging Opel like a dead weight” and that the future of the brand “is not assured.”
