Opel Vauxhall will reduce its network of dealers

LONDON (Reuters) – Opel and Vauxhall, the two brands redeemed last year by PSA (PA:PEUP) to General Motors (NYSE:GM), will reduce their network of dealerships to lower their costs in the face of declining sales on the british market.

Stephen Norman, the new boss of Vauxhall, has a mission to straighten out the sales on what was once the biggest market for Opel-Vauxhall.

The manufacturer has seen its sales drop by 22% last year in Britain, compared with a decline of only 5.7% of the market.

“The requirements of the sector in the future and the requirements of the brands Opel and Vauxhall (…) will not require as many points of sale than what they currently have,” said Stephen Norman to the press.

The consumers are turning increasingly to the internet to save multiple visits to the dealers.

The general manager of a chain of dealers had told Reuters on 23 march that the british subsidiary of PSA could reduce its dealer network by one third in the number of about 200 to straighten out the sales.

(Costas Pitas; Claude Chendjou for the French service, edited by Véronique Tison)