Future Peugeot and Citroën models could be built at a General Motors factory in Germany, according to media reports and German union sources. In February this year, PSA Peugeot-Citroën and GM announced a global alliance under which the two would share platforms and component modules and create a global joint-venture.
Although PSA has dismissed the reports as “speculation”, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung claims to have seen proposed model plans that would result in the next-generation Citroën DS5 being made at GM’s Rüsselsheim plant in 2015, followed by the next-gen Peugeot 508 in 2016.
According to the model plans, the two French cars would share a platform with future Insignia models, including what’s being called by GM planners a “Country Tourer”, thought to be an Audi Allroad rival. If the reports are correct, it seems the next DS5 will effectively replace the C5.
The reports suggest that combining Insignia, 508 and DS5 production could fill the Rüsselsheim plant and allow a three-shift operation. As the European market for Mondeo-segment vehicles continues to shrink, getting combined production at the Rüsselsheim factory up to 300,000 units per year should enable the vehicles to be profitable.
It is questionable whether today’s Insignia, 508 and C5 are making money, because of the low volumes involved.
