Opel / Vauxhall and the Talbot Syndrome
- The purchase of GM 's European subsidiaries by PSA in 2017 is irredeemably reminiscent of the takeover of Chrysler's European subsidiaries by the same PSA in 1978. Thus, two of the three major American manufacturers decided, at a given moment, to leave the European continent, and concentrate on other regions considered to be more profitable, while selling their European subsidiaries to the same French group.
- When we look at the consequences of the acquisition of Chrysler Europe by PSA in 1978, we note that the Peugeot brand that merged the Peugeot and Talbot networks in 1981 saw its sales double in a few years, while the Talbot brand (new name of Chrysler Europe adopted in 1979). disappeared in 1986.
- Can Opel / Vauxhall suffer the same fate? Inovev believes that the European clientele (especially German and British) remains committed to the Opel and Vauxhall brands, and that it would be a strategic mistake to merge the Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall networks. PSA would quickly lose many of the customers of these two brands.
- With the reduction in the break even level of Opel / Vauxhall's production volume in 2020 from 1,200,000 to 800,000 vehicles per year - a recent announcement by PSA - these two brands should therefore survive, despite the sales volume difference between Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall that will necessarily increase in the coming years.
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