PSA OPEL TIE-UP
Peugeot family says Opel deal paves way for global expansion
March 20PSA Group's acquisition of Opel gives the French automaker greater scale to pursue global expansion plans, family shareholder Jean-Philippe Peugeot told a German newspaper.
GM isn't done pruning
March 13After pulling the trigger on a sale of its European operations, General Motors signaled that it's willing to cut off more vestigial corners of its business in a drive to improve its profit margins and stock price. CEO Mary Barra says the Opel deal is not the end of the automaker's effort to pare its portfolio.
Opel will push ahead with EVs, flagship SUV under PSA ownership
March 16Opel will press on with plans to add more EVs and a flagship SUV under new owners PSA, CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann, told a motoring magazine.
Ford looks for upside in Europe
March 12Ford gets buffeted by the same headwinds as General Motors, whether home or abroad, yet it earned $1.2 billion in Europe last year. A timely restructuring helped, but there's more to it than that.
Could Opel deal set off a chain reaction?
March 13Historically, deals like General Motors' sale of Opel/Vauxhall to PSA Group have set off a chain reaction in the industry. Is a new round of consolidation in the works?
Turin outpost will help GM's push into diesels
March 13GM's Turin engineering center, born from the ashes of a failed alliance with Fiat, will remain a part of GM and continue to develop diesel engines for its global vehicles.
Can PSA succeed where GM failed?
March 12GM's sale of Opel represents a final acknowledgment that -- just as many industry experts in Europe believe -- a regional power such as PSA Group might be more suited to run the business in the face of increasingly challenging odds.
GM pays out more than it receives in Opel deal
March 13If General Motors' sale of its Opel and Vauxhall brands were an NBA trade, the commissioner likely would veto it for being too lopsided.
Opel deal caps Ammann's 'ruthless' drive
March 13Raised on a New Zealand dairy farm, Dan Ammann is now trading away General Motors' once-sacred cows.
Emissions rules made GM's decision easier
March 13Big deals in the auto industry are rarely about a single vehicle, but to understand the cost pressures that helped prompt General Motors to abandon its European operations, consider the unassuming Opel Corsa subcompact.
GM and PSA see mobility as their marker
March 13General Motors will still operate mobility services in Europe despite selling Opel to PSA Group - and the French automaker plans to do the same in the U.S.
A new powerhouse emerges
March 13To say that Carlos Tavares has surprised everyone would be an understatement. Tavares is a bold leader. It will be very interesting to watch PSA. I don't think he is finished.
GM to make pension payments for years just to escape Europe
March 7General Motors will practically pay France's PSA Group to take its long-struggling European unit off its hands as it looks to cauterize a perennial bleeder.
New Opel Corsa delayed as PSA pushes technical convergence
March 7The new Opel/Vauxhall Corsa will be delayed as new owner PSA moves to shift the brand's next-generation cars onto the French automaker's platforms.
Marchionne says rationale for GM-FCA merger stands, even after PSA buys Opel
March 7FCA Sergio Marchionne said he could approach GM again regarding a potential merger, adding a rationale for a tie-up still existed even after the U.S. rival decided to sell its European operations to PSA.
GM shifts from bigger is better to less global, more profitable
March 6GM's decision to sell its European operations doubles down on a bet that the company can win by being less global, but more profitable, in an auto industry increasingly driven by software.
GM sells Opel to improve 'overall business profile'
March 6After years of losses that totaled nearly $20 billion, GM will unload Opel and Vauxhall because Europe's geo-political and regulatory climate demands more investment when GM executives see a bigger need to focus on North America, China and emerging technologies. “The mass-market opportunity in Europe is no longer compelling,” GM President Dan Ammann told analysts.
GM will keep Cadillac in Europe
March 6GM will remain a niche player in Europe after it closes on the sale of Opel/Vauxhall to PSA Group, with plans to continue competing in the European premium market with the Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette as well as Cadillac.
Opel CEO Neumann will remain in post after PSA takeover
March 6Karl-Thomas Neumann will remain Opel CEO after PSA completes its takeover of the GM unit. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares said he wants Opel's turnaround to be completed by "Opel people."
Tavares wins favorable terms with Opel takeover
March 6PSA's agreement to buy GM's Opel/Vauxhall unit in a transaction valued at 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) at first glance seems to have cost the French automaker a bit more than pre-deal expectations of just below 2 billion euros, but this is just an optical illusion.
Tavares is a maestro who wants to orchestrate Opel's revival
March 5Carlos Tavares made a promise when he took over France's PSA: Let us fix the business, then we can forge partnerships to foster growth. He has done the first part. Now he's taking on the task of restructuring GM's Opel.
GM's relationship with Opel grew turbulent through the years
March 5PSA's acquisition of Opel will end GM's nearly 90 years of ownership that grew more turbulent and acrimonious as time wore on.
Will purchase of Opel mean deja vu for PSA?
March 6PSA Group has purchased the loss-making European arm from a U.S automaker before. It didn't go well.
GM, PSA plan Monday news conference; details begin to leak
March 4GM and PSA will hold a press conference on Monday morning, with the subject expected to be PSA's acquisition of GM's European operations. Details of the agreement began leaking Sunday in the French media.
PSA reaches deal to buy Opel from GM, wins board approval, report says
March 3PSA Group reached an agreement with General Motors to buy the U.S. carmaker's loss-making Opel division and won the support of its own board for the deal on Friday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
PSA close to deal to acquire GM's Opel unit, reports say
March 2PSA Group is closing in on a deal to acquire General Motors' Opel unit to create Europe's second-largest automaker, with an agreement possibly coming early next week, according to two major wire reports.
Barra 'exploring opportunities' for Opel with Peugeot
Feb. 28GM CEO Mary Barra said the automaker is exploring opportunities with French automaker PSA Group, but declined to discuss a potential sale of its money-losing European Opel unit.
GM, PSA haggle over $9 billion pension gap, report says
Feb. 24As GM tries to hammer out a deal to sell its long-struggling Europe business to PSA, one multibillion-dollar issue looms large: how the companies will manage an underfunded pension plan for retirees.
GM said to demand non-compete clauses in return for Opel patents
Feb. 24GM has told PSA it would only sell licenses for the manufacture of Opel cars to the French company if it agreed not to sell them in North America, Russia or China, a German magazine reported. Opel would only be allowed to sell new models in those markets but not existing cars such as electric car Ampera-e.
PSA's Tavares says Opel deal would find 'speedy' savings
Feb. 23PSA's proposed acquisition of Opel would swiftly create savings and value for both companies, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares said. PSA could attract new customers currently reluctant to buy French cars, while generating savings from shared technical underpinnings, he said.
PSA takes first steps to U.S. market entry with ride-sharing service
Feb. 23PSA will be a partner in TravelCar, a ride-sharing service set to begin in April at airports in San Francisco and Los Angeles, as the automaker takes the first steps toward re-entering the North American market.
PSA could sell Opel cars outside of Europe
Feb. 23PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares laid out his vision for Opel that includes expanding the German brand outside its European home market.
PSA ready for 'opportunities' as profit gain helps Opel stance
Feb. 23PSA's earnings jumped 18 percent last year on cost cuts, underscoring the automaker's revival and helping its efforts to buy GM's struggling European operations.
VW said to renew India push with Tata alliance talks
Feb. 23VW Group is in advanced talks to team up with Tata Motors as the German automaker takes another stab at India's fast-growing demand for cars, Bloomberg reported. Competition for India's booming market of middle-class drivers is intensifying, with global manufacturers from Fiat Chrysler to PSA expanding in the country.
PSA seeks up to $2.1 billion savings from Opel deal, report says
Feb. 22PSA Group expects its planned acquisition of GM's Opel/Vauxhall division to lead to combined sales of 5 million vehicles by 2022 and save as much as 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) annually, as talks advance towards a likely deal in early March, sources told Reuters.
PSA says it will honor existing Opel job guarantees
Feb. 21PSA Group told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that it would uphold Opel and Vauxhall job guarantees if it buys GM's European arm, though some analysts say thousands of job losses are likely eventually.
VW softens some cost cut demands, workers say
Feb. 21VW Group has rowed back on some demands for larger cost cuts than previously agreed with unions at its core VW brand, the company's labor bosses works, as both sides seek to end a dispute over implementing a turnaround plan.
The really new GM: Ready to quit Europe
Feb. 20GM's proposed departure from Europe would be a radical pivot for a company that historically tried to dominate every global market it could, as well as a sign of how dramatically the industry is being upended by shifting attitudes about transportation.
Ford found a recipe for profits in Europe
Feb. 20General Motors hasn't made money in Europe since Bill Clinton was president. If the world's third-largest auto-maker fails to unload its Opel European division on PSA Group, it could look to its crosstown rival in Dearborn, Mich., for an example of how to right the ship.
Once upon a time, Opel was GM's little engine that could
Feb. 19Europe has been a drain on General Motors for a long time, but Opel did have its glory days and at least once helped keep GM afloat. Automotive News Print Editor RIck Johnson was there when it happened.
PSA may vow to maintain Opel sites; deal likely by March 9
Feb. 19PSA CEO Carlos Tavares will meet with UK and France government leaders this week to discuss the potential purchase of GM's Opel and Vauxhall brands. To win support for the takeover, PSA will pledge to maintain Opel's independence, honor existing collective labor agreements and continue to invest in all four of its German sites until at least 2020, a report said.
Why leave Europe's car market? So many reasons.
Feb. 18Why is General Motors looking for a way out of Europe? That's easy. While home to many of the oldest and most venerable car brands in the world, Europe may also be the most brutally competitive and demanding market, with a complicated patchwork of regulations under which a host of American, European and Asian brands all compete.
Could FCA look better to GM after Opel deal?
Feb. 20Now that General Motors is potentially selling off its European brand Opel to PSA, there is one way the automaker could stay in Europe and remain profitable: by finally taking up FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne's offer to merge.
PSA's takeover plan has analysts puzzled
Feb. 20Carlos Tavares, PSA Group's energetic CEO, made a promise when he took over the struggling French automaker in 2014: Let us fix the business, then we can look to forge partnerships that foster our growth. He's done the first part.
Buick relying less on Opel, more on China
Feb. 20Buick's sales success and product expansion in recent years have been driven by General Motors' decision to incorporate platforms and vehicles from GM's Adam Opel subsidiary into the brand's lineup.
GM's European slog
Feb. 20Since General Motors' decision to keep the Opel division following its 2009 bankruptcy, the company has had a revolving door of executives and a tough time finding traction in the crowded European market.
GM, PSA said to value Opel at $2 billion as talks advance
Feb. 17GM and PSA are discussing a valuation for GM's Opel unit of about $2 billion as the automakers push to reach an agreement as soon as the end of next week, sources told Bloomberg.
PSA already got its hands on a classic
Feb. 20While PSA Group is talking to General Motors about acquiring Opel, it already has bought one stately brand this year - in India.
Once Buick's lifeline, Opel isn't so crucial anymore
Feb. 17GM has already gotten more out of Opel for Buick than many ever would have imagined eight years ago -- the last time the automaker nearly sold the German carmaker.
