The head of the PSA Group says that Opel’s production costs are far too high, suggesting that cost-cutting measures will soon be implemented.
Speaking to German national daily newspaper, Die Welt, PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares revealed that Opel’s production costs were at least 50 percent higher than those of the group’s French factories producing Peugeot, Citroën and DS vehicles.
The PSA Group, of course, completed its acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors back in March.
“My impression is that many problems are due to the fact that things are out of proportion at Opel, that they consume too much energy, that processes are not efficient enough,” Tavares told the newspaper, according to Automotive News Europe.
“We have to become much more efficient, everywhere, and in all functions. The car industry is still a place where there is a lot of waste,” Tavares added.
The French group has already hinted that the majority of Opel products will switch to PSA Group platforms and engines over the next few years, which could bring Opel engine development grinding to a halt.
“A strategy has been pursued that simply did not work. And now we are facing the danger that Opel will not be able to meet the emissions ceilings that will come into force in 2020. This is extremely serious and extremely dangerous for the company,” he added.
Tavares, however, remained optimistic.
“The [Opel] cars I see are really good. This speaks for technology and for production. PSA makes a lot of money. Why should Opel not make money?” he asked.
