According to an article by Reuters (later confirmed by Handelsblatt), GM has been in serious talks with Peugeot Owner group PSA about the sale of GM’s European brand Opel. Opel is not a very significant brand to many American consumers. We know the brand better as Buick. Regardless of the name of the company, this deal would have huge implications on the European car market. Furthermore, the move by GM to leave the EU altogether raises some questions. It should be stressed that a deal has not yet been reached, but at the very least, spokespeople from both PSA and GM have confirmed that the two companies are in serious talks about the sale of Opel to Peugeot.
What would this mean for the European car market? Well for one, the combined Peugeot and Opel group would surpass Renault as the second largest market share in Europe, with a combined share of 15% of the market. Note that the Opel brand also holds with it the brand Vauxhall. This market share is second to the Volkswagen group who holds a 23% of the market.
This deal has some political implications as well. Some trouble brews in Germany where Opel is headquartered. There is a part of the German population that is not very happy about Opel being under French ownership, especially given the potential for plant closures and significant job loss. These issues are made even more tense by the fact that both France and Germany have elections coming up.
As for GM, this deal has some potential negative effects. One being that Opel is a huge source of engineering development. Without this company and its subsidiaries, GM will bee missing out on an important source of information, as well as sales.
The sale of Opel to Peugeot is certainly a story to pay attention to. As I mentioned before, there are a ton of different political and economic implications that this will have on the automotive scene both in Europe and in the US. Should the deal go through, it will be very interesting to see what kind of trouble this deal may stir up. Be sure to keep your eyes on TFLcar.com for more information regarding this important piece of automotive news.
While GM’s future presence in Europe is anything but certain, their push to sell electric vehicles is well underway. To see what could be the future for the GM brand, be sure to watch the video below:
