Shortly after France’s PSA Group purchased Opel from General Motors, the struggling automaker has reported widening losses in the second quarter and expects the trend to continue.
Autoblog reports that Opel lost $250 million in the second quarter of 2017, a hefty $40 million more than it lost in the first quarter. Broken down, Opel’s losses equate to around $4.74 million every single day. All things considering, GM is probably pretty happy about selling off Opel.
For the past 16 years, Opel has been a lossmaking enterprise due largely to its $1 billion a year research and development costs needed to ensure its vehicles meet European anti-pollution rules. In May, PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares said he expected Opel to lose more money in 2017.
Both General Motors and PSA are still working together to make for a smooth transition and it is reported that PSA has big plans for Opel, including fitting many of its existing engines into Opel’s current and future vehicles. A representative for Opel workers believes that just 800 of the 7,700 Opel employees involved in development will be needed moving forward.
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