IT's OFFICIAL. OPEL- VAUXHALL. SOLD TO FRENCH GIANT PSA

[Purplehazeffc]

As the title says.
GM has sold off Opel & Vauxhall to PSA, parent company of Peugeot and Citroen.

Thoughts on what, if any changes to the current Opel line up of cars. Specially the ones now imported here under the Holden name??

Story from Wheels here : https://www.wheelsmag.com.au/news/1703/opel-sold-to-peugeot-leaving-future-commodore-in-doubt

[faneca]

I don't think any current model change will happen under the Vauxhall and Opel names. Holden however I can't see having the models long unless an agreement is made to say that the current models can remain.
I think it seriously brings in to question Holden's future as a whole. I think 2/3rds of those models were being sourced from Opel which no longer being GM is going to cause some issues.
I think it pretty much rules out the majority of their RHD Market as well so they would have to do some rnd to convert other LHD models to RHD.

I can't see Holden lasting more than 5-10 years now.


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[dutchy]

Yup official. Good I'd say. At least they'll (try) keep the factories going and the people employed. Could not be said under GM. Hope the future cars will do well for Holden too as it's in everyones benefit.

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[Purplehazeffc]

I personally can't see, after the current line up of Opel cars are going to continue when they are due for replacement.
You would think that with Holden & Opel being owned by GM. The cars would be cheaper to make & import here for Holden. IE: Family type discount.
For Holden to do a new contract with PSA, you would think the cars would become more expensive for Holden to buy.
Which would then place the cars in a more premium price point in the market. Which I can't see the Australian buyer accepting.

Then Holden would have to turn back to the GM branded cars, more likely coming out of GM Korea. IE: Barina, Cruze & Malibu
I can see Holden to remain viable in Australia to become similar to what Kia & Hyundai are. Price leading cars.

[dutchy]

Combined psa opel will make more cars so it would be reasonable to assume that prices could be somewhat lower. Add to that psa would not want this venture to fail so my guess is they would be offering competitive cars. Guess only time will tell. No word though on the OPC part - future of the company....

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[faneca]

So holdens future locked in for at least 5 years.

Also PSA have a mid sized platform for their 308 which accommodates fwd and AWD so while there's no mention of OPC products. And certainly no current shape Astra OPC. But should it continue, there's a chance of a AWD astra OPC

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[dutchy]

There seems to be a lot of different stories and opinions. I do like the thought of an awd Astra though 😁

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[Marmalade]

no need for an awd variant at the moment imo. The current range of fwd's are handling the power and road conditions extremely well. Fulltime awd is a bit of a gimmick on family cars and does not negate poor driving skill or lack of judgement in bad conditions. Couple that with the likelyhood that most people who buy an awd road car are going to put cheap tyres on after their decent oem set wear out, means there is little benefit to be had overall.

Having said that, if engines continue to become more powerful in small cars (ie getting upwards of 200+kw on tap as standard in a fwd vehicle) it may be necessary to reconsider this for safety reasons. By then however there will most likely be a myriad of active safety features to keep drivers out of trouble.

As for holden, will be interesting to see, is the 2017/18 opc going ahead?

[faneca]

It's not so much a safety or need for it it's more so to compete with the rest of the hot hatches. All brands bar Renault and Opel now offer an AWD turbo 4 or 5 or in BMW's case a 6. So really to just be competitive they need to look at a range topping AWD variant.
Unfortunately yes your more than likely right. Your everyday driver would just slap whatever is cheapest on and the cars do handle the power through the front without too much hassle. But with likely increases in power and the competition offering an AWD system that leave you behind at the line it's hard to imagine them not looking into it.

All that said. There hasn't been any talk that I have heard of since early days about an OPC.

Was originally talk about a GSi fwd turbo and a hi Po OPC/VXR model. But I haven't seen any new information

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[Marmalade]

So.. we may have to rename the forum PeugeotAus then? :)

Will be interesting to see if they keep the OPC division which is a direct competitor with the megane/clio etc.

Would be sad to see the J be the last vxr in production :/

[dutchy]

😂😂😂 just wait and see what happens. The announcement is still fresh and more details will be revealed in due time. As i understood, they will be keeping the Opels separate, jobs will be kept, new models developed and production upped. Can only be good in my opinion 😀 better with PSA than to become part of a certain Chinese or Indian group.

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[faneca]

Indeed! I read a report that Opel will have to switch from the GM platform Architecture to the PSA platform. So that being the case I'd imagine that does open the door to the AWD OPC. But yes Opel will be run as a separate German brand


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[rocky424]

Maybe the OPC version will share the same engine as the 308 GTI 1.6 turbo which has had great reviews in terms of engine performance from a 1.6T

[Purplehazeffc]

From what has been read in the press so far. It's is looking quite good & maybe better run than how GM was running them.
Hopefully they can still supply Holden after the current model contract is finished. Could be some really great cars coming

[chris_r]

Platform sharing between PSA and Opel will no doubt happen. It'll cut costs right down, so it's a no brainer. That's probably not a bad for the Opel engineers and management either. Between Opel/Vauxhall/Saab and GM, there's been a lot of tension over the years. For example, the platform that GM said that Opel should use for the Vectra C was flat out rejected by Opel engineers because they thought it was rubbish. Sure enough, the Vectra C wasn't the best thing Opel developed, but it could've been far worse. Saab did the same thing to GM, Saab were losing money on selling cars, because of the R&D they put in to them, as well as the quality of the final product. That's what undid Saab in the end, which GM sold off in an attempt to stem the bleeding from Opel/Vauxhalls books.

When it comes to RHD cars, the South Korean crap we're likely to get badged as Holdens won't be that viable, it's hardly worth developing platforms to cater to what is otherwise a small market for RHD on a global scale. So if Holden stays under GM ownership, they'll probably continue to source cars from PSA/Opel for some years to come. But if the other rumour I heard was true, that GM sold off it's European operations to fund a purchase of the big slice of the shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, there'd probably be a deal there to have some of their RHD stuff fill a void here. Either way, Holden's days are numbered. If not for the uncertainty the future brings, but for the damage that is being done by ceasing manufacturing here.

But the interesting part would be though, would PSA dare launch the Opel brand here again, after Holden already screwed it the first time?

[dutchy]

I heard that same rumor Chris about Fiat. Hmmm new Astra OPC housing a 6.3 litre F140 CF engine..... :arf:

[chris_r]

I heard that same rumor Chris about Fiat. Hmmm new Astra OPC housing a 6.3 litre F140 CF engine..... :arf:

Yes, but could it ever be as fapworthy as the trusty ol' Z20LEx?

[dutchy]

Yes, but could it ever be as fapworthy as the trusty ol' Z20LEx?

There's only 1 real Daisy Duke.... but I could also fap all over a Ferrari engine without any problems whatsoever :blush2:

[dutchy]

And now PSA also eyeballing Proton - Lotus..... do these guys print their own money ???!!!

[chris_r]

And now PSA also eyeballing Proton - Lotus..... do these guys print their own money ???!!!

They must do, isn't Proton owned by the Malaysian government or something?

[dutchy]

They must do, isn't Proton owned by the Malaysian government or something?

Partly I believe. That could make a new GT(Lotus) a real possibility :)

[JohnBu]

It's a done deal.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/564073/eu-approves-peugeots-purchase-of-opelvauxhall-from-gm/

[dutchy]

Also read they pay 1bn more than agreed price due to stocks and running costs such as staff entitlements

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