Vauxhalls has new owners

[viva boy]

Bonjour to "La Viva"
Peugeot Citron have bought Vauxhall
What people's thoughts on this ????

[Bob perry]

Not quite sure what to make of it really!!.

As a former Peugeot employee and car owner, for my sins, it 's a positive as it ensures that the Company is strong enough, financially, to make such a purchase and my pension looks to be secure!!

From a Viva owners point of view I can't see it making much difference, other than our factory links and Magazine publishing etc, if things go wrong for the British plants.

Peugeot obviously are eyeing up the Opel side more than the Vauxhall, as they need bigger sales penetration in Europe, despite the fact that they have spare capacity in their own plants, and that is where it might be difficult for Luton and Ellesmere Port, and the German Government will undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on the French to 'protect' their car workers!!! The Opel factories, however, appear to be far less efficient than the British ones, so that is a point in our favour!

There is always the possibility as well that, post Brexit, the French will sell of the Vauxhall arm, especially if our Government arranges a 'deal' similar to Nissan!!!

[vauxhallbitz]

Do you think it will have an effect on the sponsorship of the VBOA annual rally and perhaps the future of the Heritage Museum..........?

If money is as tight as they say luxuries like this will be the first to go.

Could be the start of the end for Vauxhall as we know it.

[lord13]

I think that Vauxhall will disappear and all new cars will bear the 'Opel' badge. Then all production will move to Europe and the Vauxhall factories will close. Makes economic sense, the new owners will want to streamline production and reduce the deficit that they have inherited from GM. Producing cars in post brexit Britain will be too expensive, but it could be possibly cheaper to import cars from mainland Europe to our scepted isle so the closure of all Vauxhall factories is imminent. Why else would GM sell up now? Vauxhall have run at a loss before, but GM kept a hold, but now, with brexit looming, GM have decided to cut their ties. . . I may be wrong, I am after all a 'remainer', but this maybe the beginning of the end . . .

Or they could simply sell off Vauxhall to a british bidder, and Vauxhall could return to it's british roots. Either way, I don't think this bodes well for Vauxhall...

[Colin]

Today's latest BBC report seems to sum up the uncertainty at least in part -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39188465

There is currently over capacity with too many plants in Europe. Some will have to go.

A lot will depend on the sort of post-Brexit trade deal struck with the rest of Europe -

In a tariff free trade environment (good for the UK economy) the UK plants at Luton and Ellesmere Port are vulnerable to closure due to the weak pound and costs involved in importing components from central Europe.

If trade tariffs are imposed post-Brexit (bad for the UK economy) then the UK plants may have a better chance of survival since it would pay PSA to have some manufacturing capacity 'on the other side' of the UK trade barrier.

So, at the moment at least, it looks like what's good for the country may be bad for Vauxhall and what may be good for Vauxhall is that which is bad for the country...

As with virtually all other marque names, the Vauxhall name has for many years been just that; a historic name used to sell a globalised product to a local market (in Vauxhall's case the UK). The various GM names, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Opel, Izuzu, Holden etc have similarly been used to sell the same global product to their respective home markets.

Pontiac and Oldsmobile in the US have already been rationalised out of existence by GM due to local and global over-capacity.

I suspect the Vauxhall name - which is now relevant only in the UK - may be about to join the pantheon of now historic classic names like Pontiac and Oldsmobile in the US and Rover in the UK lost in recent years - along with the other now historic British marques lost over the last thirty years, Austin, Morris, Triumph etc.

[Bob perry]

I still feel that Trade Tarrifs will not happen, particularly in the motor industry, as tarrifs, if applied, will work in BOTH directions.
BMW, Merc, Renault, Fiat, Seat, Audi and the VW group will certainly not be keen to pay a tariff on UK exports, as we buy more from them than we supply!!
It will just make prices more expensive on both sides of the channel, and sales will drop off accordingly!!
The protective Germans and French will not want unemployment levels rising just before their general elections!!

The U.K. is one of Europe's biggest customers, in most things, and they would be very foolish to lose it!!

[Colin]

In a trade tariff free scenario with the Vauxhall plants' peripheral European location - with associated component movement costs, irrespective of local labour costs with an uncertain GBP/Euro exchange rate, AND in a saturated European car market - it's hard to see how the UK Vauxhall plants are not disadvantaged in comparison with PSA and Opel plants elsewhere in Europe.

[vauxhallbitz]

Vauxhall are to drop sponsorship of the a Home Nations football teams next year, is this the thin edge of the wedge...........?

What next the Heritage Centre?