Vauxhall’s best-selling Corsa model will be updated with an all-electric version by 2020 as the PSA Group launched a new company strategy.
PSA also said that it will be adding an electrified element to all car lines by 2024, with either all-electric or plug-in hybrid options being made for each Vauxhall model.
Currently in its fifth generation, the Corsa was originally known as the Nova in the UK when it was unveiled in 1983. But from 1993 it was renamed, with the current generation introduced in 2014.
The new all-electric Corsa is expected to be revealed in 2019, alongside the Grandland X PHEV plug-in hybrid SUV.
This announcement comes alongside the PSA Group announcing a new financial strategy for Vauxhall/Opel. Called ‘PACE!’, the new business model is aimed at returning Vauxhall to profitability by 2020 as well as setting up the brand for a “competitive and sustainable future”.
Opel CEO Michael Lohsceller said: “PACE! will unleash our full potential. This plan is paramount for the company, to protect our employees against headwinds and turn Opel/Vauxhall into a sustainable, profitable, electrified, and global company.
“Our future will be secured and we will contribute with German excellence to the Groupe PSA development. The implementation has already started with all teams eager to achieve the objectives.”
The number of platforms and engines will also be considerably reduced to cut costs and streamline the design process of all Vauxhall/Opel vehicles.
Lohsceller added: “Aligning architecture and powertrain families will substantially reduce development and production complexity, thus allowing scale effects and synergies, contributing to overall profitability.”
