標緻雪鐵龍將收購通用歐洲業務

Peugeot owner PSA has announced a Euro2.2bn agreement to buy General Motors’ lossmaking Opel division in a deal that will see GM depart Europe after nearly a century there and reshape the continent’s car industry.

標緻(Peugeot)所有者標緻雪鐵龍集團(PSA)宣佈達成22億歐元協議，將收購通用汽車(GM)旗下虧損業務歐寶(Opel)，這筆交易將見證通用汽車在歐洲馳騁近一個世紀以後離開歐洲並將重塑歐洲汽車行業。

The deal to combine France’s PSA and Germany-based Opel, which owns the Vauxhall brand in the UK, will allow the maker of Peugeot and Citro?n cars to ramp up its international development.

這筆交易將合併法國的標緻雪鐵龍與總部位於德國的歐寶，後者旗下還擁有英國品牌沃克斯豪爾(Vauxhall)。它將讓標緻和雪鐵龍(Citro?n)汽車的製造商加強其國際發展。

It will create the second-largest European carmaker after Volkswagen and one of Europe’s biggest manufacturers.

這筆交易將締造歐洲第二大汽車製造商，僅次於大衆(Volkswagen)，而且將躋身歐洲最大製造商之列。

The combined company, which will employ 220,000 people and have revenues of Euro75bn, will face a market threatened by technology, new regulation and Brexit. But PSA hopes the extra scale will help it confront those challenges.

合併後的公司將擁有22萬名員工，收入高達750億歐元，它將面對一個受到科技、新的監管規定以及英國退歐威脅的市場。但標緻雪鐵龍希望規模擴大將幫助其應對這些挑戰。

“It gives us the opportunity to become a real European champion,” said Carlos Tavares, PSA chief executive. “Our plan is to build a common future for Opel and Vauxhall and fix the existing issues.”

“這令我們有機會成爲真正的歐洲冠軍企業，”標緻雪鐵龍首席執行官唐唯實(Carlos Tavares)表示，“我們的計劃是爲歐寶和沃克斯豪爾締造一個共同的未來，並解決現存的問題。”

It is an aggressive move for PSA, which was on the brink of collapse in 2014 and was forced in to a state-backed bailout. But Mr Tavares said it had recovered from this “near-death” experience and could go on the offensive.

對於標緻雪鐵龍而言，這是一項大膽舉措，該集團曾在2014年瀕臨破產，被迫接受政府支持的紓困。但唐唯實表示，該集團已從“近乎死亡”的狀況中復原，能夠採取攻勢。

He said taking over Opel would help PSA sell more cars outside the west European car market, saying that many customers, particularly in Asia, often preferred to buy German vehicles rather than French.

他表示，收購歐寶將幫助標緻雪鐵龍擴大西歐以外汽車市場的銷量，他表示，很多客戶（尤其是在亞洲）往往更喜歡購買德國汽車，而非法國車。

The deal also marks the end of a historic run in Europe for GM, which acquired Opel and Vauxhall in the 1920s as part of its first international expansion. The sale is part of its strategy to streamline global operations, with its European business having racked up more than $8bn in losses since 2010.

這筆交易還標誌着通用汽車與歐洲之間的歷史性緣分的結束，上世紀20年代，作爲首次國際擴張努力的一部分，通用汽車收購了歐寶和沃克斯豪爾。此次出售是通用汽車精簡全球業務戰略的一部分，自2010年以來，該公司的歐洲業務累積了逾80億美元的虧損。

Mary Barra, GM chief executive, said the sale had been a “difficult decision for General Motors” but was ultimately a “win” for both companies.

通用汽車首席執行官瑪麗?巴拉(Mary Barra)表示，這筆出售“對於通用汽車而言”是一項“困難的決定”，但最終而言對兩家公司是一個“雙贏”。

Talk of large synergies added to fears in government and unions of jobs cuts at UK Vauxhall plants in Ellesmere Port, in north-west England, and Luton, outside London, as well as in Germany, home to two-thirds of Opel’s 38,000 employees.

有關大規模協同效應的傳言，加劇了政府以及工會對於英格蘭西北部埃爾斯米爾港和倫敦以外的盧頓的沃克斯豪爾工廠以及德國工廠裁員的擔憂。在歐寶的3.8萬名員工中，有三分之二位於德國。

Mr Tavares said he had taken steps to reassure governments and unions over potential job cuts. But he added that, in the long term, Vauxhall and Opel needed to return to profitability.

唐唯實表示，他已採取措施就潛在的裁員消除政府以及工會的疑慮。但他補充稱，長期而言，沃克斯豪爾和歐寶需要扭虧爲盈。