PSA Group completed its acquisition of General Motors' Opel and Vauxhall brands on Tuesday, as it becomes Europe's second-largest automaker, the company has announced.

PSA Group's acquisition of GM's European brands will include all of its operations, six assembly and five component manufacturing facilities, one engineering center in Rüsselsheim, Deutschland, and approximately 40,000 employees, according to GM.

"We are witnessing the birth of a true European champion today," PSA Chairman Carlos Tavares said in a statement.

The French automaker that sells Peugeot, DS and Citroen brands is now second only to Volkswagen in terms of market share. The company had a 17% market share in the first half of the year, according to PSA Group.

PSA moved quickly to install new members of a leadership team. Opel announced PSA executives Remi Girardon as vice president manufacturing and Philippe de Rovira as chief financial officer.

In July, PSA Group received regulatory approval from the European Union regarding the 2.2 billion euro acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall, according to Fox Business. The initial sale of GM’s European brands was agreed upon by PSA Group and GM in early March.