On February 29, 2012, Opel/Vauxhall announced the creation of a major alliance with Peugeot-Citroën resulting in General Motors taking a 7% share of Peugeot-Citroën, becoming Peugeot-Citroën's second-largest shareholder after the Peugeot family. The alliance was intended to enable $2 billion per year of cost savings through platform sharing, common purchasing, and other economies of scale. In December 2013, General Motors sold its 7% interest in Peugeot-Citroën for £250 million, after plans of cost savings were not as successful. Opel/Vauxhall was said to be among Europe's most aggressive discounters in mass-market. General Motors reported a 2016 loss of US$257 million from its European operations (while it was reported that General Motors has lost about US$20 billion in Europe since 1999). In March 2017, Peugeot-Citroën agreed to buy Opel, its British twin sister brand Vauxhall and their European auto lending business from General Motors for US$2.2 billion. In return, General Motors payed Peugeot-Citroën US$3.2 billion for future European pension obligations and keep managing US$9.8 billion worth of plans for existing retirees. Furthermore, General Motors is responsible for paying about US$400 million annually for 15 years to fund the existing Great Britain and Germany pension plans. The acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall by Peugeot-Citroën was completed in August 2017.
However, seeing how the Opel Vivaro/Vauxhall Vivaro (which was formally known as the "Opel Arena"/"Vauxhall Arena" from 1997 to 2001) was actually a shamelessly rebadged copycat of the Renault Trafic, and seeing how the Opel Movano/Vauxhall Movano was actually a shamelessly rebadged copycat of the Renault Master, why did General Motors sell Opel and Vauxhall to Peugeot-Citroën and NOT Renault?
But what if Opel/Vauxhall (along with Holden) decided to create a major alliance with Renault instead of Peugeot-Citroën, thus resulting in General Motors to sell Opel/Vauxhall (along with Holden) to Renault in 2017? Would Renault be worthy of saving Holden?
Renault's proposed platform-sharing with Opel/Vauxhall/Holden:
However, seeing how the Opel Vivaro/Vauxhall Vivaro (which was formally known as the "Opel Arena"/"Vauxhall Arena" from 1997 to 2001) was actually a shamelessly rebadged copycat of the Renault Trafic, and seeing how the Opel Movano/Vauxhall Movano was actually a shamelessly rebadged copycat of the Renault Master, why did General Motors sell Opel and Vauxhall to Peugeot-Citroën and NOT Renault?
But what if Opel/Vauxhall (along with Holden) decided to create a major alliance with Renault instead of Peugeot-Citroën, thus resulting in General Motors to sell Opel/Vauxhall (along with Holden) to Renault in 2017? Would Renault be worthy of saving Holden?
Renault's proposed platform-sharing with Opel/Vauxhall/Holden:
Renault (Est. 1899) (France) | Opel (Est. 1899) (Germany) Vauxhall (Est. 1904) (Britain) (Opel's British counterpart) Holden (Est. 1908) (Australia) (Opel's Oceanian counterpart) |
|---|---|
| Renault Trafic (Commercial van/Commercial truck) | Opel Vivaro (formally known as the "Opel Arena") (Commercial van/Commercial truck) (A rebadged Renault Trafic) Vauxhall Vivaro (formally known as the "Vauxhall Arena") (Commercial van/Commercial truck) (A rebadged Renault Trafic) Holden Vivaro (Commercial van/Commercial truck) (A rebadged Renault Trafic) |
| Renault Master (Commercial van/Commercial truck) | Opel Movano (Commercial van/Commercial truck) (A rebadged Renault Master) Vauxhall Movano (Commercial van/Commercial truck) (A rebadged Renault Master) Holden Movano (Commercial van/Commercial truck) (A rebadged Renault Master) |
| Renault Clio (Hatchback) | Opel Corsa (Hatchback) Vauxhall Corsa (formally known as the "Vauxhall Nova") (Hatchback) Holden Corsa (Hatchback) |
| Renault Megane (Hatchback/Station Wagon) | Opel Astra (Hatchback/Station Wagon) Vauxhall Astra (Hatchback/Station Wagon) Holden Astra (Hatchback/Station Wagon) |
| Renault Kangoo (Commercial van) | Opel Combo (Commercial van) (A rebadged Renault Kangoo) Vauxhall Combo (formally known as the "Vauxhall Astramax") (Commercial van) (A rebadged Renault Kangoo) Holden Combo (Commercial van) (A rebadged Renault Kangoo) |
| Renault Koleos (Crossover SUV) Renault Grand Austral (Crossover SUV) (A 7-Seater version of the Renault Austral) | Opel Grandland (Crossover SUV) Vauxhall Grandland (Crossover SUV) Holden Grandland (Crossover SUV) |
| Renault Twizy (Quadricycle) Mobilize Duo (Quadricycle) | Opel Rocks (Quadricycle) (A rebadged Mobilize Duo) (Was previously a rebadged Renault Twizy from 2017 to 2023) |
| Renault Zoe (Hatchback) | Opel Ampera (Hatchback) Vauxhall Ampera (Hatchback) Holden Ampera (Hatchback) |
| Renault Captur (Crossover SUV) | Opel Mokka (Crossover SUV) Vauxhall Mokka (Crossover SUV) Holden Mokka (Crossover SUV) |
| Renault Kadjar (Crossover SUV) Renault Austral (Crossover SUV) | Opel Crossland (Crossover SUV) Vauxhall Crossland (Crossover SUV) Holden Crossland (Crossover SUV) |
| Renault Talisman (Sedan/Station Wagon) | Opel Insignia (Sedan/Station Wagon) Vauxhall Insignia (Sedan/Station Wagon) Holden Commodore (Sedan/Station Wagon) |
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