#PSA
Decades After Bringing Workers To France, Jobs Go Back To Africa While France's Promise Disappears
The establishment of a new manufacturing base in North Africa has fascinated me for the past couple months – though few others seem to really care. The leader in this movement has been Renault, which is setting up plants in Morocco and Algeria to build their popular, low-cost Dacia vehicles in factories where employees earn a fraction of what a French assembly line worker would make.
PSA doesn’t have a low-cost brand of it’s own, so jobs haven’t gone across the Strait of Gibraltar – yet. But the closing of the Aulnay plant, where a massive contingent of North African immigrants (now French citizens) work, is a compelling snapshot of the socioeconomic and racial dynamics of France that happens to intersect with the auto industry.
France's Socialist President Offers "Buy French" Plan
Newly elected French socialist President Francois Hollande told GM’s partner PSA Peugeot Citroen to renegotiate a plan to lay off 8,000 workers. However, Hollande admitted he could not halt Peugeot. Hollande promised government money to “encourage consumers to purchase French-made, environmentally friendly cars,” Reuters reports. Soon he will admit he cannot do that either. The “French made” part is sure to get his government in trouble with the EU.
GM Won't Share Volt DNA With French Partner
The new energy relationship between PSA Peugeot Citroen and BMW is just about done now that BMW and Toyota intensified their cooperation. An Opel executive dashed hopes that the French will be able to use GM technology instead. “The honest answer is I can’t imagine that,” Opel development chief Rita Forst told Reuters, when asked if the two companies would share green car technology.
With Friends Like These: GM-Partner PSA Peugeot Citroen Gets It On The Chin
GM got itself a great new partner. Global sales of PSA Peugeot Citroen, the besieged company that is now 7 percent owned by the General, dropped 13 percent, Reuters says. PSA’s European sales dropped 15 percent, which illustrates how much PSA’s ill fortunes are tied to those of Europe.
La Tribune: Splitsville At BMW And PSA
Turmoil at GM’s new European partner PSA Peugeot Citroen. As if rumors of embargo-busting and of an impending guillotining of CEO Philippe Varin aren’t enough, now there are reports that BMW wants out of the hybrid alliance with PSA.
La Tribune: Peugeot Family Thinking Of Sacking PSA CEO Varin Over Lost Sales And GM Alliance
PSA’s owners are not happy with CEO Philippe Varin. They would already have sacked him, would a replacement be on hand, reports France’s La Tribune. Reason for the disenchantment: Catastrophic sales, and the alliance with GM.
Customs Data: More Than Half Of Iran's Car Parts Still Coming Through
Further on yesterday’s story on PSA’s, and by extension GM’s, alleged continuous supply of embargoed car parts to Iran, Bloomberg reports that Iran’s imports of automobile parts decreased by 47.8 percent to $254 million in the two months since March 20.
Media Reports: Peugeot Violates Iran Sanctions. UANI: Investigate GM!
GM-partner PSA has repeatedly stated that shipments of parts to Iran’s carmaker IKCO (a.k.a. Iran Khodro) had stopped in February, and would not resume until September, if at all. The parts are for the 206 and 405 models, and PSA said it stopped shipping them in response to sanctions on Iran. IKCO says it’s not true at all, ships are unloading parts and the lines are running.
QOTD: Checking GM's PSA Levels. What's Your Dream French Import
With all the rumors about German-built Citroens and re-badged French MPVs, it’s time to do what North American car lovers do best; cast a greedy eye upon vehicles we can’t get, and talk about how much we’d like them.
European Chevrolet Production May Help Ease Opel Capacity Problem
With Opel’s fortunes in the toilet and Chevrolet vehilces gaining ground in Europe, Opel brass are looking at an obvious solution – stop building Chevrolet products in South Korea and start building them in Europe.
Opel Plant's Closing Means Next Zafira To Be Built By PSA, Other Future Plans Fall Into Place
Even though Opel will be tasked with developing the next Citroen C5, PSA will be responding in kind by providing some expertise of their own, in the form of small minivans.
GM-PSA Alliance Bears Fruit: Opel To Build Citroen C5 Successor
With a new Citroen C5 due in 2016, production of the mid-size Citroen will shift from PSA’s Rennes plant to an undisclosed Opel facility. A French car, built by Germans – eat your heart out, Clemens.
French President Picks Citroen DS5 Hybrid, Much To The Delight Of Clemens Gleich
Shortly after our man Clemens Gleich tested out the Citroen DS5, the diesel-hybrid from PSA is getting another nod of approval from a jovial European – France’s new President, Francois Hollande.
Sanctions Cause PSA To Suspend Iran Khodro Shipments
Sanctions imposed on Iran by the EU and the United States have compelled PSA to delay parts shipments to Iran Khodro until September at the earliest.
Nicholas Sarkozy: PSA In Tie-Up Talks With Toyota
When I wrote that PSA and Toyota are exploring their sado-masochistic tendencies a tie-up of production in PSA’s ab- under-used Sevelnord plant in northern France, commenters said it will never happen. Others complained about the choice of choice illustrations.
France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy rode to the rescue of embattled TTAC, and confirmed the tie-up.
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