French Auto Veteran: GM-PSA Alliance Ill-Conceived

Thierry Morin, former CEO of French supplier Valeo SA, tells Automotive News Europe that PSA Peugeot Citroen's eight-month-old alliance with General Motors Co. is a bad idea because the U.S. carmaker is not an industry leader.

Morin who is now a consultant, describes PSA's strategy as a desperation move as the company approached a "dead end." He declares, "When you do everything right but too late, you do it all wrong."

Morin bemoans what he calls a "lack of ambition" in product development at PSA and Renault SA. He contends the French companies are falling behind because unlike their Japanese and German rivals they aren't run by career automotive executives with a relentless desire to produce better cars.

In France, many people assume that any good manager can be successful in the automotive business, according to Morin. That, he tells ANE, "proved wrong sometimes."