Opel/Vauxhall News: Rumorpile: Opel CEO's Secret EV Plan

[William Maley]

As General Motors and PSA Group continue their discussions (and damage control) on the possible sale of Opel/Vauxhall, a secret plan being developed by Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann has been put on the back burner for the time being.

German magazine manager magazin reports that Neumann had been working on a plan that would see Opel transition to selling electric vehicles only in an effort to ensure the brand's survival. GM Europe has been losing money for the past 15 years. In 2016, the branch posted a $257 million loss.

Neumann was worried that Opel didn't have the resources to develop both combustion engine and electric drivetrains. The plan would see Opel end sales of combustion vehicles by 2030. To pull this off, the plan would have Opel divide into 'old' and 'new'. Vehicles would be using GM's electric vehicle platform that underpins the Chevrolet Bolt and Opel Ampera-e.

manager magazin says the board was going to make a decision on Neumann's plan this spring - May at the latest.

Source: manager magazin

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[David]

 That would Rock!  This would give a solid competitor to Tesla and GM access to a bigger rang of EV much faster I think or I at least hope.

[hyperv6]

It will be interesting to see what all is in play. So many just see the sale as a dump but there may be a bigger long term deal in play here.

The tech aspect would help GM stock here too. It is tough to make money as an automaker but an automaker making advanced  technology stimulates stock. In some cased like Tesla to where they are way behind and slow getting new product out people still invest.

[David]

I can so see an EV Ute, EV CUV's, So many options of what Opel could do as an EV auto company.

Buick Regal AWD EV!

As I have said in many other threads, I truly believe there is great potential for a Mini Pickup Truck EV that inner city folks and city park departments would love to buy.

[Cmicasa the Great]

I think we have to wait and see how the sale/merger plans work out. I still see this as a possible advantage to GM.. getting rid of Opel in NAME.. and then ceasing control of FCA... which is possibly worth less in a deal than GM might get for Opel.. and basically infusing that company with its kno-how..  The real deal is if GM even needs FCA anymore.. as again the profit it made last year after a $1 Billion loss detracts from the fact that while they would lose market share.. they may have, if not for Opel dragging on profits made  $2 Billion more last year... as there was a cost of even getting to the break-even line before the extra $1B loss even occured. Could that money have been better spent investing in profitable GM products? The efficiencies of scale have done zero to null the high EURO production costs. This is the landscape right now... 

 

 

[ocnblu]

LOL, so the plan was a suicide pill?  How very German of him!

[hyperv6]

GM needs FCA like herpes. 

FCA has shown profit but not a long term profit. They still have a heave debt over capital ratio. They also have more over capacity in Europe than Opel. 

The profit they turned is like the way they say Alfa doubled sales in December in North America. They went from 23 cars in November to 54. Keeping in mind that they were projected to get to 150,000 units in North America and 400,00 units globally. This is a real problem as FCA needs volume more so than Jeep can supply.

The only help FCA could get is once VW pays off the diesel deal  so they can buy Jeep and Ram. Then the rest of FCA goes away.  

Wow Alfa is up to 5839 in Europe their biggest market. Lets see 400,000 - 5839 - 54 =............... to go. Way to go Sergio. 

Edited February 17, 2017 by hyperv6

[hyperv6]

http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2017/02/16/general-motors-first-sell-europe-then-buy-jeep/

Now here is an idea that may have merit.

Sell Opel and buy Jeep. {I would skip Ram}

Jeep is a true global brand as it has had a global presents Mix it in with a GMC brand. They would have to replace the Fiat based products but that would be a good thing.

Jeep could open many market doors Chevy and other GM products struggle at.

For sure more profit than Opel.

 

[David]

2 hours ago, hyperv6 said:

http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2017/02/16/general-motors-first-sell-europe-then-buy-jeep/

Now here is an idea that may have merit.

Sell Opel and buy Jeep. {I would skip Ram}

Jeep is a true global brand as it has had a global presents Mix it in with a GMC brand. They would have to replace the Fiat based products but that would be a good thing.

Jeep could open many market doors Chevy and other GM products struggle at.

For sure more profit than Opel.

 

I like this idea, GMC could also do what many of us have always said from the very beginning, Hummer it should have been an Off Road package for GMC. 

This with a GMC Grill would do wonders for the lineup and big bump in sales.

[hyperv6]

No you would not touch the Jeep name as it holds so much equity.  You would keep the Wrangler and Cherokee names too.. The rest well let GMC address them.

I would make GMC the Luxury truck division with up scale on all models and make Jeep the real off road and sport models.

The Jeep name due to WWII and the thousands of vehicles left around the world due to war is a well accepted model much like  the old Land Rover was. Many do not see it as American or any other nationality as it is a Jeep.

Now if GM does not buy Jeep as odds are working that way GMC should look into doing more real off road vehicles for their line. There is no plan for a ZR2 at GMC but that still should not stop them from making a Wrangler like competitor. GM is not boxed in by a style or shape so like they did with HHR they built a better PT Cruiser. GM could take and build a better Wrangler.

Hummer should have been models under the GMC label and it would have been much easier to change and modify the product. Odds are we still would have had a GMC hummer of some kind around.

Lutz said making Hummer a brand was one of his biggest mistakes. He said it should have been a GMC.

[riviera74]

Back to Opel, would an EV run in Detroit or Minneapolis (or most of Canada) in the middle of a harsh winter?  Or in Europe, deep in northern Scandinavia?  If not, the EV will be almost strictly a Sunbelt vehicle.

[David]

3 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Back to Opel, would an EV run in Detroit or Minneapolis (or most of Canada) in the middle of a harsh winter?  Or in Europe, deep in northern Scandinavia?  If not, the EV will be almost strictly a Sunbelt vehicle.

Sure it will, the BOLT has already shown it can handle harsh winter weather in testing and I bet it will still hit 200 miles of range on a bitter sub freezing day.

Remember, super capacitors work better in the cold than in the heat. The batters can also do that depending on packaging.