GM is likely to share PSA platform
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PSA Peugeot Citroen plans to produce compact, mid-sized and SUV models on a common platform that also is likely to underpin models made by alliance partner General Motors.
The struggling French automaker wants to borrow from Volkswagen's money-saving megaplatform strategy to help stem massive financial losses that have forced staff cuts and a planned factory closure in France.
PSA says that by 2014 it will produce about half of its cars with the Efficient Modular Platform 2. The company declined to give an estimated number of cars that will be underpinned by EMP2.
Previously, PSA used three different platforms to make its compact, mid-sized and SUV models.
A PSA spokesman told Automotive News Europe that it was "very likely" that a number of models from GM subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall would be based on the platform as part of a year-old alliance agreement.
The spokesman would not comment on which Opel/Vauxhall models might use the platform. Ian Fletcher, an analyst for IHS Automotive, said he expected EMP2 to underpin Opel's upcoming Zafira compact minivan.
The first models to use the EMP2 will be the Citroen C4 Picasso and Peugeot 308, which are scheduled to launch later this year.
PSA says EMP2 will help the company reduce r&d and production by developing and producing the same components for a wide range of sedans, hatchbacks, wagons, crossovers, cabriolets and coupes.
"PSA, as well as all other manufacturers in Europe, are tightly reigned in by their finances, especially with regard to more stringent safety and emissions regulations," Fletcher told Automotive News Europe. "It thus makes a lot more sense to spread your engineering capabilities more effectively with a shared architecture."
PSA declined to say how much it spent to develop EMP2 or how much it expects to save from using the platform. VW's largest megaplatform, known internally as MQB, cost nearly $70 billion to create, estimates Morgan Stanley. The reward for this investment is big. The projected annual gross savings by 2019 is $19 billion, according to the bank.
Reuters contributed to this report
You can reach Bruce Gain at brucegain@gmail.com.
