Following a report that appeared a few days ago, General Motors and PSA Peugeot-Citroën have announced they will jointly build B-segment MPVs at GM’s Spain plant in Zaragoza, as part of the existing alliance agreement.
The two carmakers are jointly developing a next-generation of B-segment MPVs based on a PSA Peugeot-Citroën platform. The program is one of three projects which were agreed upon and signed by both partners in December 2012. The other two were the joint development of a C-segment MPV for Opel/Vauxhall and a compact crossover for the Peugeot brand, plus the co-development of an upgraded low CO2 B-segment platform to underpin the next generation of Opel/Vauxhall and PSA superminis.
The engineering execution of the joint project will be led by Opel’s engineering team in Russelsheim, while PSA Peugeot-Citroën will supply powertrains for all applications. The first vehicles will be launched in late 2016.
GM’s release says the alliance is based on a “balanced approach” and that the vehicles of both manufacturers “will be highly differentiated and fully consistent with their respective brand characteristics.” More details about the alliance’s joint projects will be provided at a later stage.
According to last week’s report, the next-generation Citroën C3 Picasso will be built in Zaragoza, Spain, along with the Opel Meriva, Corsa and Mokka, while production of the next-generation Opel Zafira will be transferred to PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s plant in Sochaux, France.
By Dan Mihalascu
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