From 2011 to 2017, reports imply that GM Europe lost an average of $1 billion yearly. Now led by Mary Barra, GM was looking to leave its troubled history behind, and Barra’s eyes narrowed on the unprofitable European balance sheet.
The first strategy was to change the management, and in July 2014, Karl Thomas Neumann assumed the position of CEO at Opel. Neumann, an experienced industry expert, tried his best, and the brand neared profitability in 2016 but couldn’t quite reach it. According to Autoweek, Carlos Tavares of PSA said the company couldn’t keep “Making red ink for 10 years.”
Perhaps Opel, under Barra and Neumann, would have reached profitability. But we would never find out because the Brexit referendum came along in that promising 2016. The economic effect of Brexit on the car industry, in general, was palpable, but already-shaky Opel took the blow harder than others. Newspapers reported Opel/Vauxhall cutting production and reducing staff hours to adjust to the economic climate. One of the cars affected by this decision was the Corsa, the second-best-selling car in the UK at the time.
GM couldn’t take the risk with the shifting geopolitical landscape, and that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
