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Sir Vince Cable, the former Business Secretary, says that Brexit is going to make it harder to maintain Vauxhall jobs.

"There must now be doubts, because of the government's lack of commitment to the customs union and the single market," he told the Today Programme.

"If you're a hard-headed car executive looking at the competitiveness of Britain versus German plants, Britain I'm afraid is going to slip down the rankings in the future," he said.

"The Germans are going to lobby very hard to protect their plants," Mr Cable added.

The map of the car industry "could be rewritten" after the PSA/ Opel deal, with the French buyer becoming the second largest car-maker in Europe, says the BBC's Simon Clemison.

As for jobs, he says it "doesn't make sense" to move production until models come to the end of a run", as that's costly and complex.

The big concern is what happens after 2021. "What if Peugeot was to say, like many car manufacturers, we have got a van [we make more cheaply here in France], let's just put a Vauxhall badge on it."

Even though staff have been given reassurances, they will want more "detail", he adds.  

PSA shares have risen sharply in Paris this morning. Business Live presenter, Sally Bundock tweets:

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Workers at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire have been reacting to the PSA merger. 

One says: "Job-wise, everybody is in the dark at the moment. We just don't know what will happen."

Another says: "I think the deal is good for current GM and Vauxhall employees, but is there a future for younger workers after 2021? Is the pension we've all been paying into for years going to be protected?"

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Getting a good trade deal with the EU could determine whether PSA keeps production in the UK, says Colletta Smith of Radio 5 Live. 

That's because the UK exports most of the cars it makes, with a large number going to the EU. 

The value of sterling, down about 17% since the Brexit vote, is another big factor.

Opel's UK operations would have been "in pretty good profit last year" had it not been for the fall in the pound, she says. 

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Opel employs thousands of workers at Vauxhall in the UK, and their jobs may be at stake after the PSA merger, says Radio 5 Live's Colletta Smith.

PSA's this morning said it would honour standing commitments, protecting UK production of the Vauxhall Astra until 2021, for example.

What happens after that is unclear, however. It could be that Peugeot decides to produce Vauxhall cars more cheaply at its plants in mainland Europe.

Ian Lucas, MP for Wrexham, says the area around the Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire has had a "very successful 20-30 years".

That's because the economy has been "transformed" from steel and coal into more light manufacturing - and "the automotive sector has been a big, big part of that". 

"In order to protect that sector we've got to invest, we've got to protect anchor businesses like Vauxhall in the months and years ahead." 

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The boss of PSA met UK Business Secretary Greg Clark and Len McCluskey the leader of the Unite union last week and assured them that existing production in the UK would be maintained, says BBC Business Editor Simon Jack.

That means the Astra will continue to be built in Ellesmere until at least 2020 and the Vivaro van will be built in Luton beyond that date.

The question is what happens after that. "They are going to have to cut costs" and "everyone agrees" they have too many car plants in Europe, Simon says.

PSA has said it likes the Astra brand, but that's not the same as committing long-term to making cars here, Simon points out.

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Ian Lucas, MP for Wrexham (which is just down the road from Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant) says "this is a very difficult day, especially if you work at Vauxhall".

However, he says Vauxhall has "had challenges before" - fighting hard to secure production of the Astra, for example - and it can remain successful.

"In the next few years we've really got to make the case for Ellesmere Port and for more investment in the UK car industry. I'm afraid the deal we get with the UK will be vitally important, as we export more than 80% of the cars we make."

Vauxhall employs around 5,000 staff in the UK, largely at its Ellesmere port and Luton plants.

Opel has 10 plants in Europe in six countries, with more than 35,000 employees.

PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares has promised to respect the "commitments made by GM to the Opel/Vauxhall employees".

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There is now an opportunity for Vauxhall and Opel to be expanded as brands and sell far more in Asia, says BBC business reporter Jonty Bloom.

Their previous owner, GM, held those car makers back as it didn't want competition for its own brands in China, he explains.

One of the big questions surrounding the PSA/GM Europe deal was what woud happen to the pensions of Vauxhall and Opel workers.

It seems that GM, external will retain the pension funds of those already retired. PSA Group will take on the "German Actives Plan" and some smaller Opel/Vauxhall schemes. GM will pay €3bn euros to those transferred schemes.

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Jobs are likely to go after the PSA-Vauxhall merger, says Peter Wells of Cardiff Business School.

"PSA's CEO Carlos Tavares has targeted savings of $2bn per annum so something has got to give," he says. PSA also has overcapacity across its European plants already.

"PSA will be inheriting quite a big mess, and out of that mess they are going to have to make something that is viable going forward," Professor Wells says. 

Image source, Getty Images

France's PSA Group has confirmed, external that it is buying GM's European business in a deal worth €2.2bn.

PSA, which owns Peugeot and Citroen says the deal will result in savings of €1.7bn per year by 2026.

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PSA may actually invest more in Vauxhall if it buys the firm, says Mike Hawes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

He appreciates it's a "worrying time" for Vauxhall workers, but notes that with increased scale, PSA may actually be able to invest more into the combined firm as opposed to making cuts.

Image source, AP

Asian markets fell in thin trade on Monday, as China announced a cut in its growth target for this year, during the country's annual parliamentary session. 

Also making investors nervous, indications from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that a US rate hike in March is a possibility. 

Geopolitical tensions are also keeping investors jittery, as North Korea fired four ballistic missiles early Monday morning, into the sea off Japan's northwest coast. 

The benchmark Nikkei index in Toky o was lower by 0.46%. Over in China the Shanghai composite was trading flat.