FY & Q4 2018 Earnings

• Sold 3,877,765 vehicles in 2018, an increase of 6.8% versus 2017. The growth is entirely explained by a full year of sales for the Opel and Vauxhall brands as the rest of the business saw volumes drop (12)%, with only Europe as a bright spot. (PSA)
• Reported financial results for the 2018 full year. Automotive revenue of €61.3 billion was up 27% year-on-year but this included the full year impact of Opel / Vauxhall. Operating profit of €4.5 billion rose 61%. PSA said Opel / Vauxhall swung from a (2.5)% loss to a 4.7% profit. PSA raised profit guidance, but as with last time, it was to a number that it is already exceeding. (PSA)

December

• CEO Tavares believes that electrification will benefit cars more than SUVs because they have better aerodynamic efficiency and will therefore require smaller batteries to accomplish the same range. He also said PSA’s strategy for re-entering the US market is not based on sharing with other OEMs, but he remains open to the idea. (Automobile)
• Faurecia invested in user experience assessment firm ESP Consulting. (Autocar)
• Reportedly shrinking the executive committee of Opel so that fewer areas are not integrated with the rest of PSA. CEO Tavares is said to be still contemplating how to best balance visible independence for Opel with the desire for maximum operational efficiency. Falling sales of Zafira and Insignia have caused a surplus labour problem estimated at 600 people. (Handelsblatt)
• Confirmed a series of all-electric vehicles for the Opel and Vauxhall brands: There will be electric versions of the Corsa, Mokka and Vivaro van. All we be available in 2020, but you can order the Corsa in 2019. (Opel)
• Citroën’s sales head in Spain and Portugal criticised incentives for electric vehicles saying the technology is not mature and few customers want them. He thinks the money should be spent on scrappage incentives. (Europa Press)

November

• Purchased a stake in Chinese aftermarket supplier UAP. (PSA)
• Confirmed the already-leaked plan to sell its share in the Kolin, Czech Republic plant to Toyota. (PSA)
• Held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new PSA-AVTEC joint venture powertrain plant in Tamil Nadu, India. The plant will have initial capacity of 300,000 transmissions and 200,000 engines. (PSA)
• Announced further job cuts at the Ellesmere Port factory, in the past year about half the workforce have been made redundant. Workers walked out in protest. (BBC)
• Reportedly agreed to sell its share in the joint venture Kolin, Czech Republic, factory that makes the 108, C1 and Aygo to Toyota. PSA will then not commission successor vehicles after the current generation ends in 2021. The two companies will also partner on new small light vans. (Les Echos)
• Closing the stamping plant at Saint-Ouen by 2021. (Les Echos)
• Reducing production at the Vigo plant due to falling sales of 301 and C-Elysée by removing a shift. (Europa Press)
• Reportedly considering the closure of the Ellesmere Port plant if the UK market declines considerably. (Bloomberg)
• Announced that preliminary agreements for Segula to take over part of the Rüsselsheim engineering centre had been completed, and stressed how vital the site was to PSA in the longer term. (Opel)
• Declared that Opel was “back on course” following its restructuring plan. Opel has reduced senior management ranks by one quarter, cut fixed costs by 28% and says that sharing platforms with PSA has reduced the cost of new models by up to 50%. (Opel)
• Peugeot’s scooter plant will shut down until the end of the year. (Usine Nouvelle)

October

• Faurecia will buy navigation systems supplier Clarion after agreeing terms with majority shareholder Hitachi. It will headquarter its connectivity-related businesses in Japan. (Faurecia)
• Chose Washington DC as the first location for Free2Move carsharing services. Users will also be able to access a variety of bicycle and scooter rental options. It looks like Chevrolet is providing the vehicles. (PSA)
• German investigators raided Opel’s office and said the firm would need to recall around 100,000 Cascada, Insignia and Zafira cars. Opel said it would challenge any recall order. (Reuters)
• Opel / Vauxhall will continue to use GEFCO for its logistics. (Autocar)
• Withdrawing from rally competitions because it thinks that without electrified vehicles the sport will lose relevance, or it wants to save on marketing spending; whichever version you want to believe. (PSA)
• Opel will offer German customers up to €8,000 to trade in older diesel vehicles for a new car. (Opel)
• Confirmed already rumoured changes to the Opel /Vauxhall line-up, saying that Adam, Karl/Viva and Cascada will be dropped by the end of 2019, mainly because of poor CO₂ In 2020, Opel / Vauxhall vehicles will cover 80% of “mainstream market volume”. (PSA)
• CEO Tavares sent a letter from the year 2038 where he lives in a world of 230 kmh autonomous sports cars, where L5 capability counts for 25% of sales and ride hailing services that match him with other motorsport nuts. He declined to say who was Formula 1 world champion the prior year, presumably having watched Back To The Future II before writing. His main message was that stakeholders needed to come together to accept revolutionary change should not stand in the way of progress, even though automotive employment accounts for around 6% of the European total. (Les Echos)
• Will finalise the strategy to enter the US market by spring 2019. (Automotive News)
• Started offering Opel vehicles under Free2Move branded lease deals. (Opel)
• Will not “develop more evolutions of diesel technology” unless it can see a clear future market demand. The company has apparently decided that a mix of 5% or lower by 2023 would see diesel discontinued. (Autocar)
• Unveiled more details of its already-announced CMP platform for smaller vehicles. PSA said that Chinese partner (and minority shareholder) Dongfeng paid 50% of the development cost. The platform can accommodate ICE, PHEV and BEV powertrains. (PSA)
• CEO Tavares said Opel was only around one third of the way through its efficiency plan, saying that laws forcing the involvement of unions had made progress “very difficult”. (FAZ)
• CEO Tavares cautioned that “what everyone needs to realise is that clean mobility is like organic food -- it is more expensive”. He may find his comments less profound after reading the various EU technical documents on electric vehicles and lower CO₂ which state very clearly that this is absolutely the EU’s expectation. (Reuters)

Q3 2018 Financial Results

• Announced Q3 2018 revenues (PSA only reports profits at half-year and full-year) of €15.4 billion, up from €14.3 billion in Q3 2017 (but missing one month of Opel / Vauxhall sales). (PSA)

September

• Will create a joint venture with Punch to manufacture electrified dual clutch gearboxes at PSA’s plant in Metz. The 600,000 capacity line will use designs developed by Punch. Combined with a 48V system, PSA expect a 15% fuel economy saving in urban conditions. (PSA)
• CEO Tavares said PSA was an “ardent supporter” of creating a European battery champion. (France3)
• Called for the French government to resurrect a scheme that gave grants to buyers of plug-in vehicles, and also make it more generous (paying out €2,000 per vehicle instead of the €1,000 payout before the scheme ended). PSA said Renault wanted the same thing but Renault spokespeople declined to comment. (Economic Times of India)
• German politicians called on PSA to provide a right of return for Opel employees involved in the proposed Russelsheim technical centre sale to Segula. (FAZ)
• In addition to the previously-reported line rate drops at Opel plants, PSA is planning extensive down days with the Eisenach plant reportedly only working eight days during September. (FAZ)
• Considering whether to install new manufacturing equipment in Ellesmere Port that could make either CMP or EMP2 based vehicles. (The Times)
• The Opel / Vauxhall Grandland X has already reached 100,000 sales and the Eisenach plant will produce it from 2019 onwards. (Opel)
• The union leader handling PSA’s proposed sale of Rüsselsheim development activities to Segula said he is cautiously considering the transaction but was not vehemently opposed providing jobs are preserved. (FAZ)
• At the unveiling of the new DS3 Crossback executives reiterated the brand’s plans to stop offering diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2025, with only plug in hybrids or full BEVs on sale. (DS)
• Gave an update on its aftermarket strategy, including the absorption of Opel and Vauxhall activities. (PSA)
• Developing a voice-based digital assistant in collaboration with SoundHound for launch in 2020. (PSA)
• Following earlier rumours that it was looking to spin-off part of Opel’s Rüsselsheim development centre, PSA confirmed it is in talks with French engineering services provider Segula to take over testing facilities for vehicles and powertrain and 2,000 engineers based at the site. Part of the pitch to employees is that Segula aims to deliver non-automotive projects that will make up for the drop in work from GM. (Opel)

August

• Experienced 308 production stoppages because of a shortage of 6 speed manual gearboxes, a reported 12,000 vehicles have been lost. (Reuters) CEO Tavares encouraged workers at the Valenciennes plant to lift gearbox production from 1,800 units per day to 3,000, but is receiving pushback from unions. (France Info)
• Confirmed all Groupe PSA passenger cars have completed WLTP certification. (PSA)
• The CO₂ output of PSA vehicles rose between 24% to 31%, depending on the model, under WLTP. (Les Echos)
• Said it was investigating the potential of manufacturing a new vehicle at Poissy. It seems likely that this would be a B-sized car, based on the plant’s current facilities. (PSA)
• Despite PSA’s recent efforts to reduce complexity, the Opel Corsa still boasts nine different windscreen and wiper combinations. (Bloomberg)
• Consolidating sales offices and parts warehouses in the UK following the Opel / Vauxhall takeover, a move that affects 200 UK jobs. (Coventry Telegraph)
• Opel unveiled the GT X BEV compact (B-sized) SUV. Although described as a concept, the vehicle seems a likely candidate for production as the next generation Mokka X, sharing the underpinnings of the next generation 208 / Corsa (already been confirmed as having a BEV version), and due around 2020. (Opel)
• Employees at Opel’s Aspern plant in Austria are concerned by media reports that factory headcount could fall from 1,400 now to around 600 very soon as the outgoing five speed transmission is set to be replaced by one with far lower volumes, and engine production is also thought to be under threat. (Kurier)

July

• Has reportedly been cutting production rates at several Opel factories: Rüsselsheim is going from 55 vehicles per hour to 42; Eisenach is going from 37 to 30 and Gliwice has reduced from 40 to 25 cars per hour. (FAZ)
• Said Opel / Vauxhall’s 7.5% margin turnaround on a half-over-half basis was: 1.7% pricing; 4.6% cost reduction; 2.1% of lower D&A (post write-downs), partially offset by (0.9)% of unfavourable exchange. Although, on a half-over-half basis, volumes seem to be up by around 17%, this was absent from the explanation. (Seeking Alpha)
• Said that average revenue for the DS7 Crossback in Europe is €45,000 and more than 53% of customers were specifying the driver assistance system. (Seeking Alpha)
• Will make an announcement on the future portfolio for the Indian market “very soon”. (Seeking Alpha)
• Opel’s CEO said the announcement that the brand’s line-up would have electrified versions of all models by 2024 should be a “strong clue” that there will be no more GM-sourced products by that time. (Autocar)
• Faurecia invested in stereo company Subpac. (Faurecia)
• Developed a shortlist of 15 US states and four Canadian provinces for a base of operations supporting PSA’s re-entry into the US market. (Motor1)
• Opel vehicles are reportedly the subject of investigation by the German regulator, the KBA, with up to 60,000 vehicles under suspicion of failing to meet emissions standards. (Bild)

Q2 2018 Financial Results

• Reported financial results for first half of 2018 that markedly beat expectations. Automotive revenue of €32.1 billion was substantially up on a year-over-year basis, even accounting for the boost from Opel Vauxhall. Operating income in the Peugeot, Citroën and DS brands was €1,873 million, an increase of almost 30% on a year-over-year basis and a margin of 8.5% (excluding restructuring costs). For Opel and Vauxhall, a 5% margin (excluding restructuring costs) was reported, reversing many years of poor performance under GM, seemingly overnight. (PSA)
• Faurecia reported financial results for the first half 2018. Sales of €9.0 billion were up 10.9% versus a year earlier when excluding currency effects. Operating income of €647 million was up 11% YoY. The company saw growth in revenue across segments and regions. Faurecia increased its full year guidance. (Faurecia)
• Sold 2,181,800 vehicles in the first half of 2018, an increase in 1.9% on a like-for-like basis (PSA’s headline figure YoY of 38.1% includes inorganic growth from the purchase of Opel / Vauxhall. (PSA)

June

• Exploring a full or partial sale of Opel’s R&D facilities, according to leaked internal documents from May, with four engineering service providers having been approached. The targeted areas, affecting 3,980 employees, could reportedly create a business worth €500 million. German unions pushed back against the idea. (Reuters)
• Faurecia said it had finalised terms for the long-planned takeover of Parrot. (Faurecia)
• Created an artificial intelligence lab based in France. (PSA)
• Starting Free2Move branded car sharing in Paris, potentially in competition with Bolloré (and now Renault). (PSA)
• Reportedly working on an all-electric Peugeot 208 GTi hot hatchback. It is already clear that the 208 range will feature a BEV in some form. (Evo)
• Started production of the latest generation of light commercial vehicles (Peugeot Partner, Citroën Berlingo and Opel / Vauxhall Combo). (PSA)
• PSA believes that 120 million km of test mileage are necessary to verify self-driving on highways -- with greater distances required for rural roads and cities. (PSA)
• Faurecia announced an updated credit facility, providing €1.2 billion until 2023. (Faurecia)
• Executives said that PSA wants to be a fast follower rather than first mover on electric vehicles. (Automotive News)
• Appointed a new CFO, promoting the current CFO of Opel. (PSA)
• Said that the cost of development for new Opel models had been reduced by between 20% and 50% through integration into PSA and component sharing and that by 2024 all Opel and Vauxhall passenger cars will be on PSA platforms. (Opel)
• Faurecia signed a strategic partnership with FAW Group, with a view to partnering in the development of a high quality interior for the Hongqi brand. (Faurecia)
• Introducing an upgraded four cylinder petrol engine family from 2022 onwards based on PSA’s (not GM’s) current 1.6 litre engine. (Opel)
• Workers at Peugeot Scooters (PSA owns 49%, 51% held by Mahindra) are becoming restless over the failure to provide a compelling recovery plan. If workers become disaffected, Sochaux is a likely target. (Les Echos)
• Began suspending its activities in Iran following the US withdrawal from the nuclear weapons monitoring deal, although it hopes to win an exemption and continue operations. PSA stressed that Iran accounted for less than 1% of revenue and so its profit guidance remained unchanged. (PSA)
• Created a fourth shift at the Vigo, Spain plant, employing 900 temporary workers due to demand for Partner and Berlingo vehicles. (Europa Press)
• Executives said the first Free2Move will begin offering leasing deals outside Europe from 2019. (Europa Press)
• Launched the new-look Opel in-car entertainment system, starting with the Insignia. (Opel)

May

• Reached a deal with German Opel unions that will see jobs guaranteed at three sites until 2023 and the sourcing of the Grandland X to Eisenach on a two-shift pattern from 2019. Unions have agreed that 3,700 staff can leave on a voluntary redundancy program (most have already signed up) and that wages will be frozen until at least 2020. Although forced redundancies are out of the question, the unspecified measures to improve competitiveness may not preclude more voluntary redundancy. (Opel)
• Will shed 500 temporary staff in Mulhouse after consolidating all production on a single line. (Usine Nouvelle)
• Faced allegations of price fixing for spare parts in cooperation with Renault. According to the claims, the two companies used Accenture as an intermediary, with the consulting company identifying areas where both companies could raise prices. PSA and Renault both denied wrongdoing. (Manager Magazin)
• Reportedly investing to increase petrol engine machining capacity at Douvrin. (Les Echos)
• Opel’s German unions demanded production and employment guarantees until 2025 for all sites as the price for a wage freeze and increased productivity. (Les Echos)
• Improved the terms of its €3 billion revolving credit facility. (PSA)
• Peugeot’s UK sales chief said the brand had “no real desire to get back into the real hot hatches”, expressing a preference for crossovers. He commented on the company’s emphasis on capital efficiency, citing RCZ as an example of the type of product PSA would no longer green light because, although “lovely to have for some of our motorsport fans”, due to small volumes the vehicle “would never make any money”. (Shropshire Star)
• Faurecia held a capital markets day, providing detailed 2020 financial targets and some outlook to 2030 for emerging sectors. By 2020, the company is aiming for €20 billion of revenue and operating margins of 8%. (Faurecia)
• Used car sales arm AramisAuto acquired Belgian company Cardoen for “tens of millions of euros”. (Les Echos)
• Announced some changes to the executive team, the VP for Eurasia was re-assigned to work for the Opel sales and marketing director, indicating either a massive demotion or a special projects role ahead of retirement. (PSA)
• In talks with French unions to increase the working week, from 35 hours to 37.5 hours in return for a 2.8% pay increase. Although PSA are only currently asking about one plant, unions fear setting a precedent. (France Info)
• Opel is shutting its national sales companies in Sweden and Denmark and will instead use an importer. (Opel)
• Opel’s works council agreed to allow workers already signed up for early separation to leave, subject to a cut-off date at the end of May, but younger workers will no longer be able to apply for the program. Opel’s CEO claims fixed costs have already been reduced by 17% from when PSA acquired the company. (Handelsblatt)
• Faurecia invested in wireless charging start-up Powersphyr. (Faurecia)
• Selected Punch Powertrain, suppliers of an integrated dual clutch transmissions and 48V motor, to provide electrified drivetrains, with a view to potentially in-sourcing production to a PSA plant. (PSA)
• Opel will use a PSA-supplied connectivity package and phase out GM OnStar (only launched in vehicles recently) at the end of 2020. (Opel)
• Vauxhall and Opel are reportedly planning a hybrid-only sports hatchback “VXR” trim level. (Auto Express)
• Hopes to sell 90,000 508s each year (70% diesel mix), once the refreshed version comes out. (Les Echos)

April

• Opel’s CEO said the plan for the next generation Mokka X had been completely changed since the PSA takeover because the intended GM platform was “heavy and doesn’t offer electrification”. (Auto Express)
• CEO Tavares offered to share benchmarking data, including cost and operational details of PSA plants outside Germany, to convince German unions of the case for change. (Manager Magazin)
• Reportedly hired Tata Consulting to help it improve in low cost cars. The targets are said to be: 90% localisation and production costs 1/3 lower than the best Western plants. (Les Echos)
• Has merged its UK wholly owned dealers into a single company and is targeting further expansion into Vauxhall sites, recently buying four under the Go Vauxhall brand. (Vauxhall)
• Will switch some production of 5008 to Sochaux -- partly because of the vehicle’s sales success but also to allow Rennes to create capacity for the C5 Aircross. (France Info)
• Opel’s works council withdrew its support for the German voluntary redundancy scheme, saying that Opel was trying to separate more people than had been agreed. Opel countered that if extra people wanted to join the scheme, the unions should not be blocking them. (Reuters)
• German regional politicians said that they were prepared to offer support for energy and property costs at German Opel plants, but would not submit to “blackmail”. (Reuters)
• In contrast to German Opel unions, British representatives of Vauxhall workers said their “focus” was on the long term future of factories in the UK as they agreed a relatively paltry pay rise -- a £750 lump sum in 2018 and a 1.5% increase in 2019. (Reuters)
• Vauxhall has withdrawn diesel powered versions of the Corsa in the UK due to falling sales. (Autocar)
• PSA Chairman Louis Gallois said he will retire in 2020. (Les Echos)
• Opel has terminated all its dealer contracts in Europe but promised that the main intention was new terms rather than a cull. In Germany Opel said it only wanted to shut 12 out of 385 dealers. (Handelsblatt)
• Opel’s head union representative in Germany said he was comfortable that the company can reach a proposed 3,700 target for job reductions but that there was insufficient clarity on post-2020 production and job guarantees. (Reuters)
• German unions were up in arms over PSA proposals for German factories. Consistent with the recent approach in France, PSA has avoided full plant closures but does intend to reduce workload. At the Eisenach plant, the company wants to end production of Corsa and Adam; at the Kaiserslautern engine factory, PSA wants to end machining. Unions say both actions would reduce staffing at the affected plants by around half. The company has responded by saying staff costs in German factories are double those of France. (Der Spiegel)
• PSA executives met with German government ministers, promising to invest in the country if “performance conditions are met” and pointed to the agreements with unions in all other Opel / Vauxhall locations. (PSA)
• The head of Vauxhall said that although the dealer body is being reduced by a third “nobody is being sacked”. (BBC)
• CEO Tavares wondered aloud about the take-up of electric vehicles in Europe “who is taking the 360-degree view?” he asked -- indicating that he does not see the development of the wider electric vehicles ecosystem as something for PSA to lead or manage. (Autocar)
• Announced the rollout of its Euro Repar service centre operation in Russia, hoping to win business from owners of western brands. (PSA)
• Launched a new trim level called “Ultimate” for Vauxhall models in the UK. (Vauxhall)
• Opel has reportedly lost a number of 2^nd and 3^rd tier executives recently with headhunters saying that current staff (“not the bad ones”) continue to look for new roles. (Manager Magazin)
• Announced it would invest in a capacity increase at the Vauxhall Luton, UK factory to enable production of up to 100,000 medium commercial vehicles annually. The plant will make the successor to the Vauxhall Vivaro, in addition to sister Peugeot and Citroën products. (PSA)
• CEO Tavares said that European CO₂ regulations are “going to create a Chinese trojan horse in Europe” because they could (in his opinion will) bring at least one carmaker to their knees, creating the opportunity for a Chinese company to buy them up on the cheap. (Reuters)

Q1 2018 Financial Results

• Reported Q1 2018 automotive vehicle division revenue of €15.1 billion, a 67% increase primarily due to the inclusion of Opel and Vauxhall. (PSA)

March

• Said it was “no longer necessary” to retain its 25% stake in logistics provider Gefco now that the end of its lock-in period (which started when it sold 75% of the business) has ended. (Les Echos)
• Reportedly planning a massive reduction in Vauxhall dealers -- 100 of the 324 sites to go. (Automotive Manager)
• Opel is reportedly trying to gain union agreement to suspend the German industry-wide 4.3% pay increase; is offering separation terms of up to €275,000 per employee plus a €20,000 bonus for those who sign up quickly. (Handelsblatt)
• PSA and Dongfeng agreed a joint venture to offer leasing arrangements to customers in China. (PSA)
• Executives said the company has chosen which brand to use for its re-entry into the North American market but it is “too early” to talk about it. (Car and Driver)
• Opel’s R&D centre in Rüsselsheim will become a centre of excellence for a variety of Groupe PSA technologies, including manual transmissions and seats. (PSA)
• Signed a licensing agreement to manufacture automatic gearboxes in France designed by Aisin (the 6-speed EAT6) instead of importing them from Aisin’s factory in Japan. (PSA)
• Announced a series of changes for powertrain plants. The PSA-developed I3 gasoline engine will be produced in Opel’s Poland and Hungary factories and manual gearbox capacity will be added in Austria (Opel) and Metz. In addition, PSA confirmed the start of electric motor production at Trémery in 2019. (PSA)
• Peugeot’s head of brand said that the company will “absolutely hit our CO₂ targets for 2021”, despite the reduction in diesel sales and without needing all-electric vehicles (although hybrid electric vehicles will be sold). (Autocar)
• Partnering with the Namibian government to create a local assembly plant with a capacity of 5,000 units per annum. Initial products will be the Peugeot 3008 and Opel Grandland X. (PSA)
• Faurecia said it had invested in Enogia, a maker of turbines that convert recovered heat into electricity. The product is currently aimed at commercial vehicles and heavy industrial applications. (Faurecia)
• The company’s Chinese joint venture is reportedly struggling from warring factions of Peugeot and Citroen representatives, a muddled portfolio and a series of ill-plannned office moves. (China Daily)
• Will launch a motorcycle sharing service in selected Spanish cities. (Europa Press)
• Investing €14 million in the Charleville foundry, leading to an additional 50 jobs at the site. (Usine Nouvelle)
• Executives said at the unveiling of the 508 sedan that PSA expects sales of 35,000 to 40,000 units per year and diesel mix of about 70% to 80% (sounds high but down from 90% today). (France Info)
• Published the latest results of its real-world emissions testing partnership with 3^rd party Bureau Veritas. (PSA)
• In the 2017 FY earnings call, CEO Tavares said that Opel’s wage cost as a % of turnover (PSA’s favoured measure) was 15.3%; and that the company would have a new strategic plan in 2020. (Seeking Alpha)
• Announced it will take an ownership stake in the vehicle plant owned by Malaysian group Naza Corporation and vehicles on the EMP2 platform will be built there for sales within ASEAN. (PSA)

February

• Collaborating with Qualcomm on vehicle to infrastructure and vehicle to vehicle communications. (PSA)
• Confirmed an all-electric Corsa will be produced from 2020 onwards. There will be four electrified vehicles in the Opel range by 2020. (PSA)
• Opel’s captive finance unit aims to increase its share of Opel sales to 1/3 of vehicles by 2020. It will launch new services, including financing for fleet sales. (PSA)
• Said that there are now 600,000 Free2Move customers -- the service covers 30 services in 10 countries. (PSA)
• Acquired a controlling interest in Chinese spare parts distributor Jian Xin. (PSA)
• Production in Poissy was disrupted by heavy snow. (France Info)
• Reached a five year labour agreement with unions at the Zaragoza, Spain plant. Wages will be frozen in 2018 and shift premiums and holiday bonuses will be slightly reduced. (PSA)
• Free2Move will run a bicycle sharing pilot in Singapore that uses electrically assisted bikes. (PSA)
• Opel announced new importers in Morocco, where it aims to get 5% market share by 2025, and Tunisia. (Opel)

January

• Reportedly halted planning for the next generation Corsa at Zaragoza and began studying alternative PSA sites that will also make products on the CMP platform. The plant manager wrote to workers to say that competitiveness improvements were a “matter of survival” and that the plant is at the bottom of internal competitiveness measures. The move appeared designed to provoke so far resistant local unions into concessions. (Europa Press)
• Announced Atlanta as the site of its North American headquarters. The site will open in February. (PSA)
• Replaced temporary workers in Germany with existing Opel employees from the Gliwice, Poland, factory as part of measures to cut costs. Although affected workers were deeply unimpressed, unions approved the plan. (Handelsblatt)
• After setting a target of 80% of vehicles would be electrified by 2023, PSA’s CEO said all vehicles electrified by 2025. The company is planning for 80% of its vehicles to have a limited ability to navigate themselves and 10% to have L4/L5 capability by 2030. (Les Echos)
• CEO Tavares said production costs in UK plants are twice those of France and that the company is considering alliances in South America. Ford was specifically named as a potential partner. (Reuters)
• PSA executives said that Opel’s expansion into >20 new markets by 2022 would start with Ukraine and Chile. Russia will come some time after 2020. (Les Echos)
• French unions detailed where some of the PSA job losses will take place: 200 at Poissy; 125 at Sochaux; 100 and Mulhouse; 92 at Vélizy; 34 at Metz; 57 at Trémery; 13 at Herimoncourt; 30 at SevelNord; 13 at Valenciennes and 17 at Douvrin. (Journal Auto). The severance terms are likely to be as follows: early retirees will get 70% of salary for between 2 and 3 years; voluntary redundancy will provide between 4 to 8 months salary, plus assistance in finding a new role. (France 3)
• Will increase production at its Portuguese plant by adding a third shift in April, bringing forward a plan to implement the additional capacity from the end of 2018. The additional 225 jobs could become permanent. (PSA)
• Announced targets for 2018 labour redundancies and hiring; PSA wants to shed 1,300 experienced employees and has committed to hire 1,300 new (presumably cheaper) permanent employees. Overall the company will take on 2,000 young people but many will be on temporary contracts. (PSA)
• Cutting 250 jobs at the Ellesmere Port, UK, plant on top of the 400 redundancies previously announced. Following the changes, the plant will operate on a single shift. (Sky News)
• Will hire 600 people at its SevelNord plant to staff a fourth production shift (for the next 18 months) and has made the night shift permanent. When the shift is in place, annual capacity will be around 175,000 vehicles. (PSA)
• Said that 6,000 internal transfers had taken place during 2017, in part enabled by a revised HR system that has 20 functions and 102 job roles. PSA said that the aim of the previously announced 9^th January meeting with unions is, in part, to further develop this with a new jobs and skills alignment system (dubbed DAEC). (PSA)
• Citroën said that the C3 Aircross had an order backlog of 20,000 units and was running with 75% high series trim. The brand hopes that in 2018, French market share will exceed 10%. (Journal Auto)
• Faurecia signed a memorandum of understanding with Accenture to collaborate on mobility innovation, targeting user experience and services that enhance health and wellness. (Faurecia)