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Australia’s own car company looks set to adopt a French accent under plans to revamp Opel and Vauxhall, the former GM brands that are key suppliers to Holden’s local range.

Holden relies on European cousins Opel and Vauxhall to supply crucial models such as the Astra hatch and next-generation Commodore, cars that will soon be based on French designs produced by the likes of Peugeot and Citroen.

PSA, the parent company to Peugeot, Citroen and DS, acquired General Motors’ struggling European arms in March. The French giant released a statement at the time saying "existing supply agreements for Holden and certain Buick models will continue" under the arrangement, without offering further detail as to how that might work.

A media conference hosted by Opel chief executive Michael Lohscheller on Thursday fleshed out the collective’s plans for a Peugeot-centric future.

Under a plan known as “PACE” – for Profitability, Agility, Collaboration and Enablement - PSA will radically revamp the ranges of all five brands.

The company will reduce its number of chassis platforms from nine to two, shrinking the number of powertrain families from 10 to four.

The arrangement mirrors the strategy pursued by rivals such as the Volkswagen Group, which uses common platforms and modular engines at the core of many different models. For example, the brand’s “MQB” platform and turbocharged four-cylinder engines can be found in a wide variety of models ranging from the Volkswagen Golf hatch or Passat sedan to the Audi TT sports car and Skoda Kodiaq seven-seat SUV.

While the GM models will adopt French tech, PSA says all new Opel and Vauxhall vehicles will be engineered in Rüsselsheim, to “guarantee German engineering quality and affordable innovations”.

The German tech centre will also be responsible for research and development work surrounding fuel cell powertrains and other projects including autonomous driving technology.

PSA also plans to have a hybrid option for every body style in its lineup by 2022, opening the door to a wide range of electric models for Holden, which will continue to source models such as the Colorado ute and upcoming Acadia SUV from GM's North American, Thai and South Korean manufacturing centres.

Lohscheller says “aligning architecture and powertrain families will substantially reduce development and production complexity, thus allowing scale effects and synergies, contributing to overall profitability”.

He said Opel and Vauxhall need drastic changes. 

“The situation at Opel Vauxhall is very difficult after many years of losses,” he said.

“The status quo is not an option.”

PSA aims to complete the restructure without pressing for factory closures or forced redundancies at GM’s European facilities.

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