Groupe PSA has plans to return to the United States and the company will lean heavily on Opel engineers who previously helped General Motors bring the Cascada and Insignia to America as Buicks.
Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares revealed the company has a three-pronged plan to return to America. The company kicked off its return early last year with the launch of its Free2Move service in Seattle. Free2Move is a mobility app which allows residents to book various transportation options including offerings from Car2Go, Lime Bike, and Zipcar.
Reuters reports the second phase will involve ride services using vehicles from PSA. This will help to build customer awareness ahead of the third phase which involves selling PSA vehicles to customers in the United States.
The company declined to say which brand will be offered in the United States but PSA North America CEO Larry Dominique has previously said the company has already decided which brand will come to the U.S. and it might not be DS.
Regardless of which brand comes to America, Tavares said its vehicles will be designed with the assistance of Opel engineers because they can “ensure the future products for this market will be fully U.S. compliant” both in terms of regulations and consumer tastes.
Tavares went on to say the cars are already in development but there’s still no word on when they will arrive.
In related news, Tavares said the company will be “100 percent electrified” by 2025 but later clarified his statement by saying an electric or hybrid powertrain will be offered on all models by then. He also said that by 2030, 10 percent of PSA vehicles will be capable of autonomous driving while another 80 percent will be able to drive themselves under certain conditions. This seems to suggest 10 percent of the company’s lineup will have a Level 5 system by 2030 while the others will have a less advanced system which is Level 3 or lower.
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