Brexit could be ‘opportunity’ for Vauxhall

PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares says Vauxhall’s British heritage could help it ‘survive’ Brexit
James Attwood, digital editor
26 February 2019

Britain’s exit from the European Union could be an “opportunity” for Vauxhall to grow, despite the challenges it presents, according to PSA Group chairman Carlos Tavares.

The threat of a no-deal Brexit has been a major concern for car firms, due to the potential impact it could have on supply chains. Tavares has previously warned that Brexit could potentially lead to the closure of Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant.

Speaking during a press conference on PSA’s 2018 results, where it was announced Vauxhall-Opel had posted a profit for the first time in 20 years, Tavares admitted that Brexit presented a “headache” in terms of the supply chain. He added the firm was already positioning inventory to try and cope with such a scenario – but added his belief that Vauxhall could be positioned to benefit.

PSA growth plan includes range expansion, new markets

“One direction is to say it is going to be a headache in terms of supply chain,” said Tavares. “We have been taking some decisions on that matter and moving inventories to where they should be if that time-lag is going to appear. 

Our Verdict

Vauxhall Corsa VXR

Vauxhall Corsa VXR
Vauxhall's Corsa VXR costs from £17,995

Hot Corsa majors on pace, purpose and performance value. Brash, boisterous and great fun – if a little lacking in finesse

Find an Autocar car review

Driven this week

“We can go on the dark side and say ‘perhaps we have to shut down plants’, and if we have to make difficult decisions we will. But on the other side, let’s not forget that we have the Vauxhall brand, which is warm to the hearts of UK consumers. Having a British brand like Vauxhall is a significant asset, and something that is unique to PSA.

“We may have almost the opposite opportunity, which is to be the survivor of the automotive industry in the UK, because Vauxhall is a brand that is warm to the hearts of UK consumers. We may be the ones who have the best opportunity to survive and make a business out of it.”

Tavares added that Vauxhall had actually grown in the UK since the vote to leave the European Union. “Since Brexit was announced the overall profitability of the passenger car business in the UK has doubled, our market share has improved and our customer satisfaction index has improved,” he said.

“That is very surprising, because since we announced Brexit we have all spent our time saying ‘it’s going to be a nightmare, it’s going to be difficult, blah, blah blah,’ and the sterling has lost significant value – and and all of this is true. But the reality is that we have adapted our sales channel mixes, we corrected our pricing, we made cost reductions, we tried to be more thoughtful in the way we do business, and since Brexit was announced out profitability in the UK doubled.

“That means there is no limit to the talent of people. I am not facing Brexit always on the dark side of this outcome: there may be for the Vauxhall brand an opportunity for us. We are managing our marketing communications in the UK in a way that is very supportive of a British brand in the UK.

“We prepare for the two outcomes and will deal with them when it comes up. Most probably there’s going to be a delay, which gives us a little more visibility for 2019.”

Read more

Porsche warns of 10% price rise after no-deal Brexit

UK car industry: no-deal Brexit could have 'devastating impact'​

Vauxhall to cut hundreds of jobs at Ellesmere Port in 2019​

Join the debate

Comments
13

Oilburner

26 February 2019
The idea of a Growth Mindset is really fashionable in business these days, and PSA have clearly caught the bug. I hope its more than just talk though. It'd be great to see Vauxhall thrive now it's free if GM

xxxx

26 February 2019

OK it's only a minor story but in these continous negative news (really opinions and predictions)  days it must be a nice read if you work at Ellesmere.

typos1 - Just can’t respect opinion

scrap

26 February 2019

Oh the joys of Brexit Britain, where everyone will drive a Vauxhall. Has anyone told the car-buying public yet?

MrJ

26 February 2019

I've had two V/O Astra estates over the last few years.

Both were reliable, economical, and good haulers.

So yes, I think Brits could go for a revitalised brand with more oomph than in times past. 

Luap

26 February 2019
scrap wrote:

Oh the joys of Brexit Britain, where everyone will drive a Vauxhall. Has anyone told the car-buying public yet?

 

Don't worry. It's definitely good enough for you.

kboothby

26 February 2019

NOT ELLESMERE!! Ellesmere is a Shropshire town, Ellesmere PORT sits on the banks of the Mersey. It is known as "The Port" and not ELLESMERE for short. Please do not abreviate without local knowledge. :) :)

 

voyager12

26 February 2019

not only geograhical - THAT's the ticket. There is WAY more to 'auto-mobility' than having sheet metal boxes on wheels roll off the production line.

jagdavey

26 February 2019

Maybe Tavares thinks after Swindon goes all those die hard Honda fans at the bowls club will return to buying "French" made Vauxhalls! After shutting Ryton PSA market share fell. Now that they have a "British" brand they think they can gain market share with Vauxhall. The biggest problem for PSA is that they have got 2 factories building the Astra, one in Poland & the other at Ellesmere Port. It doesn't take a degree in economics to work out that with the decreasing market share of the Astra they only need one factory to build it in. So one of those has got to close................Or maybe PSA will do a deal with the British Government & get a uge grant to build electric Vauxhalls in the UK?

TStag

26 February 2019

This kind of makes sense. I guess the thinking is that if the UK diverges from the EU rules and regs then having a factory in the UK to support a volume business still in the UK makes sense. This would never work for the likes of Honda because their market share in the UK is much smaller. The problem is it may only work for Vauxhall. Even JLR don’t have enough UK only volume to support this model....

So looks like we will all have to own Vauxhall’s in Brexit Britain. Oh dear....

kboothby

26 February 2019

Unlike Honda and the EU-Nippon free trade agreement, keeping UK production makes sense. The Vauxhall brand is sold exclusively here and  still sells in significant numbers, if tariffs are imposed then this is good news for Ellesmere Port and IBC at Luton, Further down the line we may see other PSA vehicles produced here for the UK market. Trade deals with countries who do not have favourable terms with the EU can be made in the UK as platform sharing is high on the agenda to avoid paying royalties to GM for their existing platforms.  Not all doom and gloom maybe?

Pages

Add your comment

Log in or register to post comments

Find an Autocar car review

Driven this week