Vauxhall And Opel Are Terminating Every European Dealer Franchise
Vauxhall and Opel are to ‘terminate’ every single dealer franchise across Europe, in a huge and unprecedented upheaval of the brand’s operation.
Around 1600 dealers across Europe will apparently be given two years’ notice from 30 April that their right to sell Vauxhall or Opel cars will be taken away. Some will eventually be invited to reapply for what is now a PSA-controlled franchise, but many will simply have the business removed, according to reports.
Crashing Vauxhall sales last year are partly behind the cost-saving move. In the UK, Vauxhall’s 326 dealers will be slimmed down to around 200; a similar number to what Volkswagen has. Many of those franchises could be awarded to existing Citroen and Peugeot dealers.
Around 12,000 Vauxhall dealership employees are now placed in the awkward position of not knowing whether or not they should be looking for other work. Stephen Norman, Vauxhall’s UK managing director, has optimistically claimed that no one’s job will be lost “as a direct consequence” of the move, and that staff at closing sites will simply be able to find work in other dealerships.
The move is hoped to drive profitability for the brand by trimming the metaphorical fat, which is to say those dealerships that don’t make enough money or don’t rank highly enough for sales figures, aftersales profits or customer satisfaction.
The decision is not related to the UK’s decision to leave the EU, Mr Norman added, and PSA has already decided to raise van production rates at the company’s Luton factory. That said, the Ellesmere Port facility, where the decreasingly popular Astra is built, is in jeopardy.
Sources: The Telegraph, Autocar
Comments
This is just plain rude and unacceptable towards already existing customers who have to go through the hassle of changing dealerships whom they have already build a strong relationship with. Also all those Opel dealers that just invested in the mandatory renovation of their showroom would just be left without the income that was calculated to pay for the work that had to be done.
Absolutely true ! How DARE they take measures to save their company that already is in a dire financial situation ! This is just so selfish !
Well, there goes the opel part of a local dealer here
We also have a dealership who sells Opels, Cadillacs, Corvettes and Kias, wonder what will happen with it
The new Terminator movie has been teased?
Vaux-Hol’ up
I am not a massive fan of Vauxhall myself but this is a really stupid move especially where i live. Vauxhall outsells peugeot and citreon with out even trying. And it is mainly down to the dealer ships you feel welcome at the vauxhall dealership at the peugeot one you are confronted by angry old people who if they dont think you look like you have money will not give you the time of day.
these dealerships sound horrible! wtf
I mean, ive been treated no differently visiting a vauxhall dealer to either of my local peugeot or citroen ones.
It’s weird that Australia’s own Holden Commodore is now techniquely a French car.
Hold up, fwd Commodore incoming !
In the move of creating something like the VAG group, this kinda makes sense. Peugeot is said to be a VW-like, Citroen a Skoda-like and Opel/Vauxhall something like Seat. Because VW sells the more with “only” 200 dealerships, it’s normal to consider that Opel which sell less than VW, should decrease the number of dealerships, even more so when margins are lower on PSA products than VAG badged products. Opel/Vauxhall was already in a not-so-good shape, they need too cut down some costs to even exist in the future.
O-pal do I have news for you
history repeats itself, #neverforgetsimca-talbot
What, they want to put Peugeot and Citroen dealers in their place?
They will stick Vauxhall and Opel into existing Peugeot dealerships.