Peugeot Citroen PSA group acquires Vauxhall/Opel brand

After weeks of speculation, the PSA Group (Peugeot Societe Anonyme) has finally confirmed that it has come to an agreement to buy the Vauxhall/Opel brand.

General Motors' (GM) have agreed to sell their European vehicle brands to the PSA Group - owners of the Peugeot and Citroen brands - in a £1.9billion deal.

Peugeot Citroen group takeover

PSA say that the deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2017 and will make it the second largest automotive group in Europe behind Volkswagen, with a 17 percent market share. The deal will include Vauxhall/Opel's assembly and manufacturing plants and an ongoing commitment that Vauxhall vehicles will benefit from intellectual property licences from GM until its vehicles progressively convert to PSA platforms.

New vans

The two manufacturers are no strangers - they've collaborated on at least three European projects since 2012 which, according to a PSA statement generated substantial synergies for the two groups. That's not all - in April 2015 PSA and GM announced that they would be joining forces to build new generations of their light vans at the PSA plant in Vigo, Spain.

Due next year, the new vans will replace the current Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner and Vauxhall Combo models and will be developed on the French brand's latest LCV architecture. The Vauxhall Combo is the result of a collaboration with Fiat Professional, and launched in the UK just five years ago.

Carlos Tavares, chairman of the board at PSA, said: "We are proud to join forced with Vauxhall/Opel and are deeply committed to continuing to develop this great company and accelerating its turnaround. We respect all that Opel/Vauxhall's talented people have achieved.

GM's European brands have not turned a profit in almost 20 years - the last was recorded in 1999 - and this deal signals the end of the American company's European operation. This will allow GM to focus on its home market, as well as its expanding Chinese operations.

"We are very pleased that together, GM, our valued colleagues at Vauxhall/Opel and PSA have created a new opportunity to enhance the long-term performance of our respective companies by building on the success of our prior alliance", said Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO.

It's expected that the Vauxhall Vivaro van will continue to be produced in Luton until 2025 for the current model run. After that it's likely to be reviewed on a performance basis.

New van finance

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