Peugeot Looks to Opel in a Bid to Appeal to American Tastes

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While it’s no secret that the PSA Group is looking to make a return to our shores, the French automaker dropped an interesting little nugget at the Detroit auto show regarding Peugeot Citroën’s return to the States—namely, the role its recent acquisition of General Motors Europe’s Opel brand plays in the plan.

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Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress, PSA Group chairman Carlos Tavares said that the company has “people working on cars now” for the U.S.  market and that Opel engineers can “ensure the future products for this market will be fully U.S. compliant,” aligned with both regulations and our market’s particular tastes, reports Reuters.

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PSA had already planned to re-enter the fray in the U.S. market via ride sharing—which it’s currently exploring with its Free2Move app—and once Peugeot vehicles have taken hold in that role, they’ll be offered to the general public for sale. Opel’s contribution can be fully implemented on that slow and steady timeline.

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Presumably these U.S.-bound cars will feature a measure of electrification, since Tavares also said that by 2025, “the PSA Group will be 100 percent electrified.” The firm’s timeline to reach autonomy is perhaps a bit less aggressive than those of some other automakers, with the chairman claiming that by 2030, 80 percent of the company’s vehicles will have limited self-driving capacity, while 10 percent, according to Tavares, will be capable of autonomous motoring.

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• PSA Group Wants a Refund, Saying General Motors Misled It on Opel/Vauxhall Emissions

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• Opel Sale Will Not Affect Buick Lineup, GM Execs Say

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• Retour à L’Envoyeur: Driving a Citroën CX from New York to France

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To recap, the brand is essentially banking on Free2Move to smooth the way for its entry into the U.S. market, while putting its faith in the Opel/Vauxhall folks to make sure the new vehicles are in line with Yankee tastes. Which may mean the new conquest-intending Frankish automobiles will remind Americans of nothing less than an evolution of recent Opel-engineered Buicks.

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