What's the news?
Opel's CEO Michael Lohscheller has been laying out his plans for the future of the German car maker under its new French owners, PSA Group (which, of course, also owns Peugeot, Citroen, and DS). The plan for Opel is that by 2020 it will begin turning a profit again, with a margin of two per cent on sales, and by 2026 it should be making a six per cent profit on sales.
That would be quite the turnaround - Opel most recently lost more than €200-million in the second quarter of this year, and has been a consistent loss-maker under its former owner, General Motors.
The plan is for all of Opel's models to transition over to new PSA Group platforms, which has the potential to save €1.1-billion by 2020, and another €1.7-billion by 2026. Nine new models will be launched in the next three years, including the all-important new Corsa in 2019. Electric cars, in which both PSA and Opel have been lagging behind somewhat, will also become more important. A plugin hybrid model of the new Grandland X crossover will be launched next year, while an all-electric Corsa is part of that model's future plans. By 2024, there should be an electric or hybrid version of every Opel model.
As to where the crucial savings are going to come from, Opel is promising a light touch for now. saying that it's not planning any factory closures and that the inevitable staff cuts will be made through voluntary redundancies. That said, there are still major question marks over Opel's two factories in the UK, where the Astra and Vivaro van are produced, because of concerns that they may become uncompetitive post-Brexit.
Mr Lohscheller said that "our objective is to achieve our goals without plant closures and without forced redundancies in Europe thanks to strong improvements in competitiveness. Simply because the situation at Opel/Vauxhall is very difficult after many years of losses. There is no doubt: The Status quo is not an option.
"Opel and Vauxhall need to change. And we will change. Our mindset will be focused on performance and profitability. This is the best protection for our people and the future as well as against any headwinds. We will build this new Opel with a level of agility that will allow us to move fast and manage all the upcoming challenges of the industry extremely efficient."