Just read that Groupe PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall) is talking fusion with the FCA Group (Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Ram, Maserati).
That would be the 4th largest producer of cars in the world, with a value of 45 billion Euros. Total production 8.7 million cars, behind Volkswagen Group ( 10.8 million) , Toyota (10.6) and Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi ( 10.8).
Last edited by Franco; 30th October 2019 at 12:19.
I read that this might be in view of the Electric Vehicle revolution and the significant upfront R&D expense required to compete.Originally Posted by Franco
On another note, shame that there are no British manufacturers in that list above...will be out-competed
A few years ago I had the, err, experience of doing some work with both Fiat and PSA. Two of the most stodgy, awkward companies I’ve ever had the misfortune to interact with.
So, in short, a match made in heaven
A cousin of mine, ex-NASA no less, is a senior engineer for Chrysler/Jeep who ended up coming to the rescue of an Alfa Romeo production line in Italy. He has some astonishing tales to tell. Suffice to say, I wouldn’t touch anything Fiat are responsible for manufacturing with a barge pole.
And yet my 15 year old Panda is reliable, comfortable, economical and comfortable to drive. It also has a five star ncap rating.
Yep, that would have been in Turin. I went to that site myself a few times and it was like stepping back into the 1970s.
It had a 5 star NCAP rating. They’re valid for 6 years IIRC.
That would likely be 0 stars in the current test, such is the rate of progress in crash protection.
A massive opportunity to share R&D cost, rationalise the supply chains, share platforms (which they do already) and close factories.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Who did you have in mind? Bristol or Morgan?
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
The Morgan Motor Company Ltd is owned by the Italian investment group Investindustrial.
As a Vauxhall dealer of 30 + years there was incredulity at why PSA wanted to buy it as its well a disaster of a company with vast pension liability and woeful warranty issues and very confused backward management......however it later transpired that PSA had gotten GM to pay several billions to cover the pension pot and had actually bought for one reason .......the technology and design rights and infrastructure that produces the Ampera ....this gives PSA a viable EV platform to populate across all brands....Vauxhall was a piece in the jigsaw as are the next mergers.
They’d have got that access via Opel too though wouldn’t they?
I’m not sure what value there is in buying near decade old hybrid-electric car tech either, especially as Vauxhall had all but given up on the Ampera and haven’t sold it for a few years?
Since the takeover didn’t I read that Vauxhall has turned a profit now? Perhaps the backwards management were doing a business that was potentially profitable a dis-service?!
Vauxhall is still a valuable brand/market, I’d have thought that more of the value for PSA was in that.
The French Government have large shareholdings in PSA and Renault, obviously it is protectionism but I have never understood how they get away with it, with all of these EU rules supposedly set up to stop this.
I think it’s very helpful to group all the car brands I wouldn’t buy in a million years into one company!
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A rigged game. Plus I imagine the Italian Government have their fingers in Fiat, especially via the Agnelli's.
But where does this leave Ferrari?
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
In some ways one has to admire a closed mind.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Well, I’m not a rich man, I’m not a petrolhead, and I’m time poor. So the concept of spending lots of money on unreliable cars that depreciate badly, and spend time getting fixed in garages is not something I’m keen on!
I’ve experienced the above with 5 of the brands listed - and a quick browse of JD power and general reliability surveys, plus my own taste and no doubt prejudices picked up in half a century on the planet - means that I’d rather avoid their products! So it’s a closed mindset, but reached with a large helping of experience, a dollop of research, a pinch of logic and a smidgeon of ‘meh’!
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in fairness I have owned Lancia, Fiat, Citroen (Twice) and Peugeot and all have excellent and reliable.
However that said I very much doubt I would ever buy another. To many other (and better) options available.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Summing up the majority of car buyers.
The net result is that the UK car industry is defunct, the French and Italian ones doing well.
That is called the proof of the pudding.
I believe we are now in a new era where general vehicle production has to commit to EV or other environmentally friendly modes of power. It seems sensible to pool R&D and possibly manufacturing, as well as back of house resource.
Another point to consider is the uptake of EV as this will control the manufacturers production and how vehicles will be purchased given the liability of a few of the component parts of EV’s.
With combined R&D, hopefully charging and range will be improved, making purchasing EV a real meaningful choice on the assumption that there will be sufficient means for charging.
Something to note is as below:
https://europe.autonews.com/automake...es-and-credits
B
As well as being able to ensure that the board is really well distanced from the things that they make and also from those things that use them.........errrr customers. So, yay, bonus - they will not need any experience of those things that they make...............err cars.
They become bankers that subcontract the mission to their divsions.
Remember BP went that way and look what happened in the gulf
B
i didn't say it was a good thing.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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