GM-PSA Alliance Projects Ahead of Schedule

PSA Peugeot Citroen's year-old alliance with General Motors Co. is moving faster than the partners had expected in developing the models they plan to introduce in 2016, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The partners have established a team of 600 engineers in Germany to design an ultra-low emission small-vehicle platform, a compact van and crossover vehicle, small MPV and midsize cars.

CEO Philippe Varin tells the newspaper that the companies could realize the first tangible benefits from the alliance late this year when they begin to jointly purchase parts and materials.

GM and PSA said last February the alliance could save each of them $1 billion (€767 million) annually by 2017. Varin tells the Journal the companies could beyond that goal partner by exploiting additional synergies, which he declines to describe.

GM CEO Dan Akerson said in January that the partners might jointly engineer a low-cost small car for Latin America a project they scrapped last year. Akerson also mentioned possible cooperation in Russia, without offering details. He added that GM also might seek to capitalize on PSA's expertise in making small commercial vehicles.