GM, Peugeot strains kills joint small car, possibly whole alliance

Sun, 27 Oct 2013

The relationship between General Motors and PSA/Peugeot Citroën got off to a bumpy start last year, and Automotive News says that the tie-up between the two automakers will be short-lived. Heavy losses from both companies is causing the alliance to be scaled back, but PSA's talks with China's Dongfeng could kill the deal altogether.

Originally, about 40 shared vehicles were planned between Opel, Peugeot and Citroën, but the report says that, in the end, only two will make it to production – small vans like the Opel Meriva and Citroën C4 Picasso. For now, GM and PSA will continue a joint purchasing agreement, but this means that co-developed versions of the next-gen Opel Corsa, Peugeot 208 and Citroën C3 small cars are dead. Instead, another AN report says that GM will intensify its efforts to develop future Opel products on its own, which includes said next-gen Corsa that will reportedly switch from its current Fiat-based platform to GM's Global Gamma platform shared with the Chevy Spark and Buick Encore.

It isn't clear what would happen with the shared vehicles and joint purchasing, though, if Dongfeng manages to acquire a 30-percent stake in PSA/Peugeot Citroën. Dongfeng is a Chinese rival to SAIC Motor, which works with GM in China. While this soured deal mostly has implications for small cars in Europe, we wonder what it means for GM's fullsize commercial van plans in the US.

By Jeffrey N. Ross