General Motors would not co-operate with Peugeot in India

The alliance between GM and Peugeot to share vehicle architecture and jointly buy parts is restricted to Europe only. 

While one French automaker Renault is successfully laying down bricks to create a strong foothold in the Indian market, after gaining entry into the country last year, the same is not true for another automaker from Renault's home country, PSA Peugeot Citroen.

 

After announcing its arrival in the Indian market at the 2012 Auto Expo and showcasing the 508 sedan and later announcing that the company's plan of investing close to 4,500 crore in India to set up a plant in Gujarat, practically nothing has materialized for the French automaker. 

 

Back in February 2012, there were reports suggesting that PSA Peugeot and General Motors are in talks to create a strategic alliance to build cars and components in Europe, which will leverage profitability to both companies. Then in March 2012, an official statement was released, announcing that the two companies have joined forces and entered into a long term and broad scale global strategic alliance. 

 

The joint venture, had us believing that same alliance would be put into effect in India as well. Several reports and even unofficial confirmations from company personnels suggested that Peugeot could use General Motors facility to roll out cars in India. 

However, according to fresh reports coming out today, a General Motors senior official has ruled out any alliance with Peugeot in India, saying that the U.S carmaker General Motor's alliance with the French carmaker, PSA Peugeot Citroen is restricted to Europe and there is no proposal for co-operation in India. 

 

The tie up is likely to be confined to European markets,” said Lowell Paddock, president and managing director of General Motors in India

Gregoire Olivier, head of Asian operations for Peugeot was quoted back in April 2012, saying: “We now have GM as a global partner, and GM has factories in India, so we're obviously reviewing our plans from the top.” The statement raised questions against European car-maker's plan for India. 

 

Looks, the Peugeot is on its own to create its mark in the Indian market. We however, would suggest they act much sooner than later.