PSA to cut Opel models, curb discounts

[BERLIN] PSA Group plans to cut the number of models and rein in discounts at its Opel division, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Monday, without citing the source of its information.

The French carmaker is in the process of integrating Opel after buying it earlier this year from General Motors, a task which analysts say will lead to sweeping job cuts.

The chief executives of PSA and Opel will on Thursday present a turnaround plan for the German carmaker to return it to profitability over the next three years.

Under the plan, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares wants to rein in Opel's practice of selling its cars at big discounts, for instance via so-called self-registrations, Frankfurter Allgemeine said, without being more specific.

Opel's headquarters in Ruesselsheim near Frankfurt will become a centre for engineering and electrification at the German carmaker, the newspaper said.

PSA has already said it will use its own technology and vehicle platforms for future Opel models to cut costs and bring down emissions.

Emerging details of the PSA-Opel recovery programme reinforce the impression that PSA CEO Tavares plans to repeat a similar cost-cutting deal implemented years ago at the French group which at the time was wrestling with a prolonged European auto-market slump.

REUTERS