Philippe Varin hammered since his arrival at the head of PSA: China is a priority internationally. Determined to change size in this country's biggest car market in the world, the group has finalized Friday a joint venture equally with a second local ally, the Chinese Changan. The two companies will share an initial investment of 935 million euros for marketing light commercial vehicles and passenger cars in the Middle Kingdom from the second half of 2012.
Based in Shenzhen (Guangdong province), the joint plant will initially produce 200,000 cars and engines per year. It will manufacture the first models in the future DS, Citroen premium label, and vehicles, including utilities, a new brand created for this market.Next came the Peugeot and Changan.
Yet pioneer in China in 1985, PSA has seen sales take off only recently, thanks to the Citroen C5 and Peugeot 408, produced with Dongfeng, China's first ally. They have risen by half in 2009, with 272,000 cars passed, and the first half of 2010 (176 000), faster than the market (+27%). With a market share of 3.3%, the group remains a small player. Hence the need to find another partner to reach 8% in 2015-2016. An ambitious target, given the amounts invested by the leaders General Motors and Volkswagen.
New segments
The agreement with Changan to permit "to better cover the market" due to launch on "segments where we were not present," said Philippe Varin. Including vans, with sales booming in China.SAP is also focusing on high-end, also very promising. The group plans to produce locally large models of its range DS (DS4 and / or DS5), and its future Peugeot 508 (with Dongfeng).
This coupling with the fourth Chinese manufacturer could facilitate the growth of PSA on the east coast of China and Hong Kong, where the market is more dynamic. Dongfeng is based in Beijing and especially in the center of the country. The French, who has an annual capacity of 450,000 cars in China with Dongfeng, alongside plans to build a third plant with its first partner
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