Opel has three years, but then the German car maker must purr PSA according to his French buyer. The workforce in Rüsselsheim puts this under enormous pressure.
PSA boss Carlos Tavares
Monday, 06.03.2017
15:17 clock
PSA boss Carlos Tavares takes only a few minutes to outline the public to sketch his coupuntil he hands the microphone over to GM boss Mary Barra. Then the other top managers have their say. The press conference is remarkably close to a deal that will create Europe’s second-largest automaker and, for General Motors and its subsidiary Opel, represents the deepest cut in its recent history. Then it’s all about the question: what do the Opel employees expect?
Tavares makes the obvious facts sober. “The only thing that protects us is performance,” he says. “Together we can get better.” If you are the best, you are also protected. He trusts people and their ability to improve.
And he was sure that there was much potential for efficiency in the factories of Opel and Vauxhall. “In the auto industry there is the closing of works, but in a way it’s an all too easy way to look at things.” He was sure “that the German and British factories in the end want to be no less efficient than the French factories”.
He does not give an assurance on further job and location guarantees that will last until 2018. The reprieve is set – then is expected again. It’s clear from Tavares’s words that beyond 2018, only the return on investment counts. By 2020, he wants to make the lossy German manufacturer profitable again.
Principle hope
The situation for the Opel people is not completely hopeless. But they will have to change if the Targets formulated by Tavares To become reality, with Opel in the Champions League of the automaker ascend. The purchase makes PSA the second largest European carmaker behind Volkswagen in terms of sales figures, with a market share of 17 percent. More than 3.1 million vehicles are attributable to PSA with its Peugeot, Citroën and DS brands, based on the 2016 figures. At Opel and the British sister brand Vauxhall it was about 1.2 million.
But unlike the case PSA Group, who has already made a veritable horseback ride in recent years, Opel costs each of the 1.2 million cars built money. In total, a good 250 million dollars in 2016 alone – and a total of 15 billion dollars since 2000. Size effects and savings in purchasing, manufacturing and research and development are expected to bring 1.7 billion euros annually after the merger.
PSA and Opel are traveling in different regions. PSA is strong so far, especially in France, Spain and Italy, Opel in Germany and the United Kingdom. That now both sides succeed in the areas of the new partner, even Tavares does not believe. “Customers choose what they buy,” he said, assuring him that he wanted a clear distinction between the brands.
Uncertainties of Brexit
Where the journey will go, can already be seen on current models that have emerged from a 2012 started cooperation between GM and PSA. The Opel Crossland X, the Citroën C3 Picasso and the Peugeot 2008 are currently being rolled out onto the streets, all manufactured in the Opel plant Zaragoza. “Everything you can see and touch comes from Opel,” says Crossland Chief Engineer Olaf Kaden. The rest comes largely from the PSA kit.
However, the uncertainties of Brexit are not yet included in the calculation. A radical departure of Great Britain from the European single market could result in tariffs for importing vehicles to the island. With a factory in the country itself, Peugeot could handle these costs, after all, Vauxhall has factories in Ellesmere Port and in Luton. But both factories are dependent on parts deliveries from the continent. Tariffs for it could push the bill quickly into the minus.
Remains Tavares’ hope to grow internationally, from which then Opel would benefit. Worldwide, PSA is significantly weaker than large competitors such as VW or Toyota, Opel was due to the order from Detroit so far even completely limited to Europe, except for small activities in China once.
China as an opportunity
In fact, China could have the greatest opportunities, first and foremost with electric cars. Especially since PSA of General Motors has been promised to use the technology of the Chevrolet Bolt.
But by 2020, the profit must come from somewhere else. Tavares renewed his announcement that Opel his Renovation largely must design itself: “The turnaround of Opel must be created and implemented by the Opel people and the Opel management.” And then he added warningly: “A company that has been in the red for ten years, (…) is, of course, a problem that needs to be resolved, and I think that the employee side also understands that the current situation not sustainable. “
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