PSA Groupe Completes Acquisition Of Opel And Vauxhall

PSA Groupe is now the second largest car manufacturer in Europe. Thanks to the takeover of the Opel and Vauxhall car brands from General Motors, the French automotive group now has a 17 per cent market share in its home continent. Formalities to acquire both the brands from the American auto giant began in March this year and the transition is valued at around 2.3 billion USD (approximately Rs 14,668 crore).

Opel is a German car manufacturer and Vauxhall is its British subsidiary. PSA says that this acquisition will help the company strengthen its roots in major European markets and will also serve as a foundation for profitable growth worldwide. To ensure that the brands help its new mother company achieve its long term goals, the CEO of Opel, Michael Lohscheller, will present a plan in 100 days.

On this deal, Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board of Groupe PSA, said, “We are embarking today with Opel and Vauxhall on a new stage in Groupe PSA's development. We will grasp this opportunity to build on one another's strengths and to attract new customers, thanks to the implementation of the performance plan that Opel and Vauxhall will implement. In parallel, the execution of the Push to Pass plan remains a top priority for the teams, they are focused on achieving the objectives. We have confidence in the momentum that these strategies will create, to the benefit of all stakeholders.” 

On the other hand, Dan Ammann, president, General Motors said, “We’ve taken another bold step in our ongoing work to transform GM. The sale of Opel and Vauxhall brands to PSA Groupe allows us to sharply focus our resources on higher-return opportunities as we expand our technical and business leadership in the future of mobility.”

PSA Groupe, as we know, is also gunning to get into India. Earlier this year, the company signed an agreement with Hindustan Motors Finance Corporation Ltd, in which the French company will hold a majority stake. PSA will assemble and distribute passenger cars from its manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu and also source powertrains locally from AVTEC Ltd. It is expected to initially invest around Rs 700 crore and the inceptive production capacity will be capped around 1 lakh units per annum.