GM - Peugeot alliance

[Dr Mordrid]

Time....

(FRANKFURT, Germany) — General Motors and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen, both struggling in Europe, said Wednesday that they’re forming an alliance to share car platforms and purchasing power.

As part of the alliance, Detroit-based GM intends to take a 7 percent stake in the French automaker, making it the second-largest shareholder behind the Peugeot family. Peugeot will raise $1 billion (euro0.74 billion)in new capital.

The two companies are seeking efficiencies that will make them more competitive in Europe’s car market. GM’s European business lost around $700 million there last year and the company has said it’s determined to turn it around.

Europe’s mass-market car market is brutally competitive. A large number of manufacturers and low prices means carmakers can’t make much profit per vehicle and costs need to be kept low.

The two companies said in a joint statement that they’ll continue to sell their own vehicles independently and on a competitive basis. The deal will mean they can leverage a combined purchasing volume of $125 billion with suppliers.

“This partnership brings tremendous opportunity for our two companies,” said Dan Akerson, GM chairman and CEO. “The alliance synergies in addition to our independent plans, position GM for long-term sustainable profitability in Europe.”

Philippe Varin, chairman of the managing board of PSA Peugeot Citroen, said that the partnership was “rich in its development potential.”

[Elie]

The same fate will happen to Peugeot as SAAB. So sad...

[UtwigMU]

PSA = Peugeot + Citroen. Citroen and Peugeot already share platforms. Peugeot is a bit more sporty and classy, while Citroen is a bit more trendy and a bit more sophisticated/innovative. Peugeot took over Citroen and Citroen is making a bit of a comeback. I drove the Citroen Xara Picasso across entire Italy in one night and experience was pleasant.

I don't get it why partnering with GM as there is already Opel in Europe (shares platforms with other GM companies such as Daweoo - mainly branded as Chevrolet and some US platforms).

Opel was doing poorly though Angie Merkel struck a deal and saved it and recent models are a bit better than previous ones. Opel used to be kind of a dull car that has usually great price/performance and styling that is trendy on lunch but doesn't live long.

PSA has cars in most segments in Europe, even an SUV. Basically everything Opel has. So I don't know about platforms. Maybe they would combine certain models, like new Ford Ka shares platforms with Fiat 500/Panda/Lancia Ypsilon. Or Renault shares some platforms with Nissan and ownership is connected. You have to give up one segment to get VW. Same goes for higher segment like Golf/Jetta (Golf sedan) costs as much as Mondeo or Insignia.

Or maybe diesels. Americans generally don't have diesel engines, while on French markets half of cars used to be diesels (don't know whether that still holds). Peugeot and Citroen generally have good diesel engines.



Also not everyone is so strung on price.

For example at VW you pay 15-16.000 EUR for a new Polo (Cross 1.2 TSI 105HP) which gets you Opel Astra, Meriva or Zafira or a Ford Focus or C-Max. VW is doing very well. Also BMWs are expensive (cheapest one series starts at 23.000) but they are selling very well.

To check German market new and used car prices go to mobile.de

[Evildead666]

You forgot to say "used to be...trendy, sporty" etc.

Citroen makes some good cars for people who want to look cool, but nearly all cars made today are crap.
Programmed to fail within a few years, so you have to buy spare parts.
They use more plastic, and less metal, so it wears more.
We would still have our Peugeot 505 estate is some wanker hadn't stolen it.
New propshaft and cylinder head, and new pistons and sleeves. And a full tank of petrol.
It was stolen over 12 years ago, but i'm still pissed off about it, it would have gone on forever, and probably IS still going in Africa or Morocco/Algeria.
A lot of people here used to say the 505 was Peugeots last real car, from then on its been plastified.
Citroens DS, had a permanent oil filter that just needed cleaning, our 505 had a permanent air filter (wire mesh with oil, 'bain d'huile'), that just needed cleaning. There is no need for throw-away paper alternatives, its just for the spare parts guys.

I'm keeping my old passat until they phase out 98 octane.
people may bitch that it pollutes more, but I say look at the diesel cars when they accelerate hard, and at the black smoke that pours out. No one forces them to do an oil change and air filter change when they should, and that is criminal.
A car went past me the other day, and when i looked in my rear view mirro, i couldn't see it anymore for the dense black smoke that it spewed out. It was a recent car. It hadn't blown a turbo or anything, just shitloads of soot blowing out.

My Clio diesel never blows any soot out, and its from 1999, even under hard acceleration.

Then again, people here seem to not notice they have indicators, and just plain don't give a rats arse about anyone else on the road anymore. We have become a population of "interaction by proxy". People communicate more through devices, than they do physically. Walk up to talk to someone to ask something, and they look shocked, as if they are about to tazer or mace you.

Utwig, 15-16K euros will get you a second hand BMW M5 with 390bhp. One of the nice old 4L straight sixes.

By the way, France is over 90% diesel now. I have one collegue with a petrol car, and he has a RX-8, mostly because he lives 10 minutes away.
My old 1.8 Passat with 112bhp is plenty powerful for motorway driving, having been to Oxford and back (800Km almost exactly door to door) with a boot full of wine, and two parents and their baggage.
I have to admit i may have spent quite a bit of time over the speed limit on the motorway (its a national past-time here), but I averaged 8L/100km. The suspension was almost bottoming out it was so loaded.

The Renault 4L had 35bhp, and was fine for my mum and two kids to get to school and back, we don't all need 100+bhp cars. What we need is a city car, and then a car for weekends, and for fun, and long distances.

They complained on the radio this morning that new car sales are down 20% on last year, As if people buy new cars every year ?
What happened to the car that lasts so long, it gets passed down in the family for a generation or two ?