Peugeot & GM creating global alliance

File photo.

File photo.

Published Dec 20, 2012

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The writing's on the wall - both Peugeot Citroën (PSA) and General Motors need each other's help to survive amidst the economic gloom in Europe that's weighing down on both companies.

To that end, the two carmakers have just laid out a strategy to broaden their European joint venture into a global alliance.

At the end of February, the two giants announced that they would work together and said that they would come up with firm projects by the end of the year.

The two are complementary to the extent that they offer each other technologies, models, markets and distributions networks to achieve global scale and range, but they come from different cultures.

Under the strategy announced that was announced on Thursday, the two boards have approved three of four projects for the joint development of models.

ZAFIRA/3008 REPLACEMENT

The first project is for a so-called monospace vehicle under the Opel/Vauxhall names and a crossover utility vehicle (CUV) under the Peugeot brand. These will replace the Opel Zafira and the Peugeot 3008.

The second project is for a small monospace vehicle for the two groups, and the third is for a modernised platform for small, low-emission cars for the Opel, Peugeot and Citroen brands and for sale in Europe and on other markets.

However, the two groups have decided against the joint development of top-range vehicles as had been mentioned at the end of October.

The segment for high-end vehicles in which German makers such as VW excel, offer big margins, but the two groups concluded that the business model proposed was not viable.

The two groups said that they were studying other projects for the joint development of vehicles.

Source: AFP

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