PSA said to demand refund from GM over Opel emissions

PSA is reportedly wanting money back from General Motors over CO2 issues.

Unnamed sources told Reuters PSA now wants about half the €1.3bn paid for Opel refunded after discovering the full extent of CO2 emissions challenges and exposure to European fines.

PSA said recently moving Opel-Vauxhall products to PSA engineering architectures was an important element of its merger strategy. The two Groupe PSA platforms CMP and EMP2 will be localised in all Opel/Vauxhall plants. An EMP2-based SUV is planned for Eisenach in 2019; and an EMP2-based D-segment vehicle is coming to Russelsheim. The allocation of new powertrains in Opel/Vauxhall manufacturing sites will accompany the shift from GM to Groupe PSA engines and transmissions.

Reuters said PSA needed to move Opel models onto its own more fuel efficient technology faster than planned, in order to cut CO2 emissions before new EU limits are phased in from 2020-21, enforced by hefty penalties.

Citing two sources, the news agency said PSA had told GM it calculates it is owed around half a billion euros and intended to pursue a legal claim on the grounds that it was misled about Opel’s emissions strategy.

One source put the figure at €600m to €800m.