Opel Will Shift to PSA Engines, Platforms

PSA Group confirms to Automobilwoche that it will gradually migrate vehicles made by its recently acquired Adam Opel unit to PSA powertrains and platforms.

Gilles Le Borgne, who heads PSA’s product development, says the transition is being driven by a need to reduce production development and production costs. He says that includes eliminating the payment of licensing fees for Opel engines to the company’s former owner, General Motors Co., “as quickly as possible.”

PSA CEO Carlose Tavares opined last month that PSA plants are significantly more efficient than Opel’s. The French carmaker is scheduled in November to reveal its plan to revive Opel, which has lost money for years under GM’s management.

The impending consolidation appears likely to eventually threaten the jobs of Opel’s 3,000 engineers. But PSA notes that integrating Opel models with PSA components also would generate new work for product engineers to adapt and test the parts involved.