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“When a decision is made it will happen unbelievably quickly. In 2025, no manufacturer will be making petrol or diesel engines.”

The fifth-generation Corsa faced a rushed development process, going from concept to the public road in just two-and-a-half years. This was due to the takeover of Vauxhall by the PSA Group.

Part of the rush was because if Vauxhall had not released a new Corsa and left the fourth-generation model on sale, the brand would have had to eventually pay royalties to General Motors – the owner of the brand when the previous Corsa was created. It is thought GM had no plans for a fifth-generation Corsa of its own. With the ready-made CMP platform from the PSA Group which the new Peugeot 208 and DS 3 Crossback were built on, Vauxhall decided to press ahead with its plans for the Corsa using the same platform.

Norman ruled out bringing out an off-road styled variant of the Corsa in the same vein as Ford has done with the Fiesta Active. The new Mokka X – in Norman’s words the “first sexy Vauxhall for 50 years” – will instead provide the alternative for buyers after a jacked-up, style-focused small SUV.

Vauxhall is in the midst of negotiations about merger between its parent company, the PSA Group, and FCA.

Norman confirmed talks were ongoing and a Memorandum of Understand is set to be signed by the companies in December. Norman believes Vauxhall won’t be troubled by it.

“It [the merger] won’t have an impact on Vauxhall. It might do in Italy, but elsewhere it shouldn’t have an impact.”

Norman also added that the merger could be a lengthy process, with PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares telling colleagues it could take another 12 months after signing the Memorandum of Understand in December for things to be made clear.

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