Recession-hit Opel, Peugeot and Saab now on the road to recovery

Some of the car makers most seriously affected by the economic downturn seem to be making decent strides towards returning to health.

Opel, which nearly came a cropper in the recession, is celebrating an increase in its pan-European dealer network. Admittedly much of the increase in its sales platform is because sister brand Chevrolet is abandoning the European market and Opel is picking up its dealers.

Peugeot too is on the road to recovery. At its lowest point, Peugeot was excluded from the French CAC-40 stock listing, but the investment this year by the French government and Chinese car maker Dongfeng has revitalised the car maker. A 48 per cent climb in its share price has lifted it back towards membership of the CAC-40 and it's expected that a review of the CAC will see Peugeot reinstated.

Finally, Saab which saw more ups and downs than a runaway roller coaster before it finally collapsed made a partial return last year when the Chinese- backed National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) company started using the Saab factory in Trollhatten to make battery-powered versions of the last-generation Saab 9-3.