Automotive News Europe - July 2019 - 15

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

AUTOMAKERS

QA

Life after GM

"The new cars on PSA architectures
deliver a massive improvement in emissions -- and then we bring electrification
on top," Lohscheller said. "To be very
clear: We will be compliant as of 2020."
At the end of last year, most Opel models were still on GM platforms including
the best-selling Corsa small car and Astra compact, the Mokka X small SUV,
the midsize Insignia, the Adam minicar
and the Zafira compact minivan. Average fleet weight was 1,345 kilograms,
compared with 1,204 for Citroen and
1,245 at Peugeot, according to ISI.
By the end of 2020, the lineup will look
very different, Lohscheller said. The current Corsa will be replaced at the end
of this year by one based on PSA's CMP
architecture. Next year will see a new
Mokka, also on CMP. The Adam, Cascada convertible, Karl minicar and current
Zafira are being phased out, leaving only
the Astra and Insignia on GM-based platforms. The Astra is due for replacement
around 2022.
The Corsa will have a full-electric version
available next spring; a plug-in hybrid
Grandland X is about to enter the market, and the next Mokka X will also have
a battery-powered variant. By 2024,
Opel will have electrified versions of every vehicle in its lineup, according to the
PACE plan, whether hybrid or full-electric. "We have changed a major part of
our product portfolio," Lohscheller said.
"Our emissions were relatively high, but
that is based on the former portfolio of
older products."
He said it was a matter of customer
trust for Opel/Vauxhall to meet its emissions targets. "We cannot imagine that
we would offer noncompliant cars and
have to pay a penalty," Lohscheller said.
"Customers will say, 'Why should I buy
from this brand, they can't even meet
the legal requirements'? That's why we
are doing all the portfolio changes, why
we are investing so much in electrification," he added. "For us, it's an absolute
must, and we will achieve it." ANE

JULY 2019

O

pel CEO Michael Lohscheller
shared his thoughts on being freed
from General Motors and the German
brand's looming return to Russia in an
interview with Automotive News Europe
Correspondent Peter Sigal.
What has improved the most in the
last two years under PSA ownership
compared with GM?
The biggest improvement is reducing complexity. Complexity is the key
thing because it drives everything. Of
course, we have reduced the number
of platforms, but if you also have fewer
steering wheels, color choices, kinds
of seats -- it reduces your manufacturing costs enormously. You also don't
need as much space in the factory,
so in some plants where we now have
excess space, we have sold or leased
some of that to suppliers. In turn, that
improves logistics costs a lot.
Opel will be re-entering the Russian market later this year with the
Grandland X as an export vehicle.
Will you have Opel cars designed
for global markets such as Russia,
rather than Europe?
For Russia, we will focus on the cars
we are selling in Europe. That's what
buyers there like. The question is: Do
we need to import them or can we
produce them locally? Local assembly
is much better in terms of overall cost
structure, and we will build some cars
[at PSA Group's factory] in Kaluga.
How has Opel's light-commercial vehicle business changed since it became part of PSA?
If you think about it, in 2017, the
Combo [car-derived van] came from
Fiat, the Vivaro [small van] came
from Renault and the Movano [midsize van] also came from Renault. So,
you can imagine what constraints we
had. Now we have the Combo and Vivaro based on PSA architectures, and
we just announced that the Movano,
based on a PSA platform, will be built
at our plant in Gliwice, Poland. That's
the reason the business is growing

Lohscheller says Opel is benefiting
from PSA's expertise in LCVs.
so much. PSA Group is really, really
good at LCVs and we at Opel benefit
tremendously because LCVs are a
very profitable business.
Although the Adam is being discontinued, you said that Opel will still
serve customers looking for a minicar. How will you do that?
We think we can capture Adam customers' hearts with different body
styles, maybe small SUVs, and a certain number of them will buy the new
Corsa [small car]. ANE

www.autonewseurope.com

15
http://www.autonewseurope.com
Automotive News Europe - July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Europe - July 2019
