Peugeot owner in talks to buy Vauxhall and Opel from GM

[dutchman]

The firm has its UK headquarters in Coventry



The owner of Peugeot said it could buy Vauxhall and Opel from General Motors (GM) in a deal that would transform Europe's car market.

PSA Group is in talks over a "potential acquisition" of GM's European car business, as it explores "strategic initiatives" aimed at boosting profits and cutting costs.

However, it said there could be "no assurance that an agreement will be reached".

Peugeot might not make cars in Coventry any longer, its plant at Ryton-on-Dunsmore closed ten years ago, but the firm has its UK headquarters in the city.

Peugeot Citroen Retail UK Limited (1913) and Peugeot Motor Company PLC (1916) are both based at parent company PSA’s UK headquarters in Humber Road, Stoke.

GM employs around 35,000 people in the UK under the Vauxhall brand, including 4,500 staff at plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton.

A spokesperson for PSA said it has been working with GM on three projects across Europe since 2012, which delivered "substantial synergies" for both groups.

"Within this framework, General Motors and PSA Group regularly examine additional expansion and cooperation possibilities, as well.

"PSA Group confirms that, together with General Motors, it is exploring numerous strategic initiatives aiming at improving its profitability and operational efficiency, including a potential acquisition of Opel.

"There can be no assurance that an agreement will be reached."

[dutchman]

"Expert" says efficient UK sites will survive...

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars ... rvive.html

Pundits rushed to declare Britain’s Vauxhall factories doomed last week after it emerged that PSA – the French owner of Peugeot and Citroen – was looking to buy the European business of US giant General Motors.

But the British car maker may still have a vibrant future, according to industry experts. Compared with General Motors’ production facilities on the Continent, its two factories are more efficient and more profitable.

Garel Rhys, professor of motor industry economics at Cardiff Business School and a former adviser to the Government, argues that Vauxhall is so much more efficient that even Brexit cannot stop it being the group’s jewel in the crown. His upbeat analysis is in sharp contrast to last week’s doom-saying.

Rival expert John Colley, a professor at Warwick Business School, bluntly warned that PSA had ‘little choice but to close the plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton to make the Opel acquisition work’.

I know which one I believe!

[rebbonk]

There is massive overcapacity in the motor industry and the French are very protective of their own....

[dutchman]

Peugeot Citroen reassures Vauxhall workers after buying General Motors Europe for £1.9bn



French car giant Peugeot Citroen - whose UK headquarters are in Coventry - has sought to play down fears of plant closures after confirming it is to buy the European operations of General Motors, including Vauxhall in the UK, for £1.9billion.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation about the deal and its impact on thousands of jobs at Vauxhall plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton, as well as in supply companies.

Unite leader Len McCluskey said workers had endured a “nerve-racking” few weeks and needed assurances over the long-term future of the factories.

Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board of PSA, said employees at Vauxhall, and Opel in Germany, would be given a chance to reach the necessary “benchmark” of efficiency.

He told a press conference in Paris: “We do not need to shut down plants.

“We believe we need to trust the talents of people. They always come up with ideas and solutions we could not imagine.

“Shutting down plants is rather simplistic.”

“Shutting down plants is rather simplistic.” That has never stopped them in the past!

[rebbonk]

Shutting down plants is incredibly easy! - Been there!

[dutchman]

Vauxhall plans 400 job cuts at Ellesmere Port as sales fall



Vauxhall is due to announce on Monday about 400 job cuts at its Ellesmere Port car plant due to falling sales.

The carmaker, now owned by France's PSA Group - maker of Peugeot and Citroen - is "facing challenging European market conditions," a spokesman said.

Ellesmere Port, which makes the Astra models, will move from two production shifts to one early next year.

PSA said that manufacturing costs at Ellesmere were higher than other "benchmark plants" in the group.

Vauxhall employs about 4,500 people in the UK, with about 1,800 at Ellesmere Port. The company also has a factory at Luton, which makes vans.

PSA became Europe's second biggest carmaker after Volkswagen in August when it completed the purchase of Vauxhall and German brand Opel from US car giant General Motors.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May personally sought assurances from PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares during a phone call in February.

Last month, Mr Tavares said that it was hard to decide upon the group's strategy for Vauxhall given lack of clarity over the UK's plans to leave the European Union.

However, a Vauxhall spokesman said the move from two shifts to one was nothing to do with Brexit uncertainty, but was about maintaining competitiveness in a changing industry.

He pointed out that sales of so-called sports utility vehicles (SUVs) have grown rapidly across Europe, while the type of five-door estates and saloons made at Ellesmere Port have fallen.

[rebbonk]

Quelle surprise!