[Admin]

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen's joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp will make a profit this year after losing money over the past two years, the firm said.
The venture, based in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, aims to earn at least 400 million yuan (US$50 million) this year by boosting sales and cutting costs, said Liu Weidong, general manager of the venture.
If it happens, it will represent a big turnaround for the joint venture, called Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen.
Last year, the company's losses stood at 360 million yuan (US$45 million), compared with a 985 million yuan (US$123 million) loss in 2004.
"We have been making profits every month since last May," Liu Qixin, the venture's public relations director, told China Daily.
Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen's bold profit goal follows the rebounding financial performance of the whole auto sector in China because of soaring vehicle demand.
In the first quarter of this year, combined profits in the auto sector, including whole vehicles, spare parts, engines and motorcycles, jumped 82.7 per cent year on year to 15.4 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion), according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Meanwhile, the vehicle manufacturing sector earned 8 billion yuan (US$1 billion) in profits, an increase of 145.3 per cent.
Last year, the whole auto sector's profits dropped by a quarter from 2004.
Dongfeng Motor, the joint venture's parent company, is apparently looking forward to profits contributed by the joint venture.
Dongfeng Motor, which has a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture, went public in Hong Kong at the end of last year.
It is the No 3 Chinese automaker after First Automotive Works Corp and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp in terms of annual sales.
The joint venture said it aims to increase sales to 200,000 cars this year from 141,000 units in 2005, helped by new products.
It launched a Peugeot 206 hatchback in January and a Citroen C-Triomphe sedan last month.
It expects to sell 35,000 units of the 1.6-litre Peugeot 206 and 30,000 of the 2.0-litre C-Triomphe this year.
The two models are part of the French carmaker's nine new products planned for the venture up until 2009.
The venture will introduce a small Citroen car at the end of this year.
Liu Weidong said the venture plans to slash costs in management and industrial production by 1 billion yuan (US$125 million) this year.
PSA Peugeot Citroen and Dongfeng Motor is also planning to build a new plant to meet growing demand in China.
It is expected to come into operation before 2010, said spokesman Jean-Martin Folz, without revealing details.
Production capacity of the venture's existing plant will increase to 300,000 units at the end of this year from 220,000 units at present.
"China's car market will continue to expand thanks to its fast economic growth.
"It is the main growth engine of PSA Peugeot Citroen and is our priority market around the world," Folz said.
The joint venture sold 44,000 cars from January to March this year, up 33 per cent from a year earlier.
Source: China Daily

 

[Admin]

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën H1 sales up 38 pct yr-on-yr boosted by new models

SHANGHAI (XFN-ASIA) - Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd, PSA Peugeot Citroen's Chinese venture, said it sold 100,173 vehicles in the first half of 2006, up 38 pct from a year earlier, on strong demand for new models.

In a statement, the company said new models launched since the beginning of the year, including the Dongfeng Peugeot 206 and the C-Triomphe, boosted first-half sales numbers.

The company has set a sales target of 200,000 units for the year.

Company officials said in April that Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen will release nine new models between 2006 and 2009.

 

[Raul]

Carmaker's 2nd plant will double output

FRANCE'S PSA Peugeot-Citroen Automobile Corp announced it will build its second manufacturing plant in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, in a key move to double its capacity by 2008.

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Corp, PSA's only Chinese venture with Dongfeng Automobile Corp, said the plant construction will start by the end of this year.

After it is completed, the plant will start making cars in 2009 with an annual production capacity of 150,000 units.

The production expansion is expected to help PSA to double its capacity to 300,000 units by 2008, accelerating its development in China to catch up with General Motors Corp, Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motors Corp.

A platform that used to produce large and high-profile models will be introduced in the new plant to increase PSA's competitiveness in mid-to-high-end car segment.

According to people inside DPCA, the new plant would assemble Peugeot 407 sedans next year, part of PSA's ambitious plan to introduce 9 new models in China by 2009 to expand its production line-up.

The world's eighth largest automaker currently produces Fukang, Picasso, Elysse and Xsara under the Citroen brand as well as the Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 307. It holds 5 percent of the Chinese auto market. GM has 12 percent and Volkswagen nearly 20 percent.

Source: Shanghai Daily

 

[m14]

Dongfeng Peugeot speeds up building of 2nd China plant

Beijing (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Company Ltd. (DPCA) is speeding up the construction of its second factory in central China's Hubei province, as its production capacity, R&D capability and sales grow steadily, according to Liu Weidong, the general manager of DPCA.

The second factory is expected to go on stream in 2009, which will enable DPCA to produce 450,000 complete vehicles from compact cars to luxury sedans.

Source:
Business in Asia Today - Nov 20, 2006

 

[hello]

OMG Dongfeng Peugeot recalls 5,000 cars

i hope they dont this more or else theyll become like a american car company

Dongfeng Peugeot, a joint venture between France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and China's Dongfeng Motor Group, is recalling more than 5,000 Peugeot 206's due to a faulty gear-box.

The recall affects Peugeot 206's made between January 22nd, 2006 and July 5th, 2006. The faulty gear-box will be replaced for free. There have been 11 car recalls this year in China.

The government has encouraged car manufacturers to show responsibility and provide after-sales support. The State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has enforced auto recall regulations since October 2004.

 

[dragin]

Hello, recalls are nothing new in China. Most have been for foreign joint venture vehicles however.

By the way can you tell us the source of this info.........

 

[CCF mod]

PSA will launch four new models in Chinese market in 2008

December 21, 2007 – French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen is planning to launch four models in Chinese market next year, namely two hatchbacks 307 and 206, a new Elysee and a five-door C4, Beijing News reported today.

Hatchback 307 and new Elysee will be launched in the first quarter next year. New Elysee will have much improvement in body design and configuration; it will compete with Volkswagen’s Bora.

The five-door C4 will be locally produced in China in the second half next year. Like C-Triomphe, five-door C4 will be equipped with either a 1.6 Liter engine or a 2.0 Liter engine; the model will compete with the Focus of Ford and Octavia of the Skoda.

PSA 407 and new C5 will not be launched until the year after the next because PSA Peugeot Citroen does not have a platform to produce them until 2009.

Currently, PSA has a 50-50 joint venture with Dongfeng Motors in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province. The joint venture has a capacity to output 150,000 units annually. However, when a new plant starts production in 2009, PSA says its annual capacity will be increased 450,000 units.

The joint venture currently offers 8 models in Chinese market, Citroen C2, Elysee, Fukang (ZX), Picasso, Xsara, C-Triomphe, Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 307.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[CCF mod]

Dongfeng Peugeot sold 92,131 vehicles in 2007.

Shanghai. January 7, 2008 – Dongfeng Peugeot has sold 92,131 vehicles in 2007, only less than 3000 units short of the company’s annual target for 2007.

Dongfeng Peugeot’s new 307 model proved to be a great success soon after it was launched in Chinese by the end of September. The model has sold 25,000 units in the last three months of 2007. However, Peugeot 206 sold only about 2,800 units in December, a less satisfactory sales record compared to Peugeot 307.

In 2008, Dongfeng Peugeot plans to launch two new models, a new hatchback 307 and a new hatchback 207.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[CCF mod]

Citroen C5 to be launched in China by the end of this year.

March 10, 2008 - The Citroen C5, which is being displayed in Geneva Motor Show, will be launched in Chinese market by the end of this year at the earliest opportunity, China National Radio reported today.
"With the release and launch of C5 in European market, the model will soon come to Chinese market,” said Al-Salam, head of International Business Division (DAIC) of Citroen. “Citroen will make revisions to C5 in order to adapt to driving conditions in China.”
"The most important market for Citroen C5 is the Chinese market,” Salam said, adding that the C5 model to be launched in China will be more advanced and luxury than the model to be launched in Europe.
"Citroen wants to improve its image in Chinese market,” said an official from Citroen’s joint venture, Dongfeng Citroen in China. “Over the past decade, Citroen has presented a low end car image to Chinese consumers, and Citroen wants to change that image.”
Separately, China Daily reported last week that C5 is likely to be locally produced in 2009 at Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Company's second plant in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

source: Gasgoo.com


Citroen C5:

 

[CCF mod]

Citroen C4 to be locally produced in China by July.

March 12, 2008 – Citroen C4, which was firs introduced to Chinese market via imports, will be locally produced in the country by July this year, Chinese auto web Cheshi.com.cn said.

The locally-made Citroen C4 coupe and hatchback will be priced at about RMB 110,000- RMB 160,000 ($15,000-$21,900) in Chinese market, the report said.

Citroen C4 is equipped with six airbags, electronic stabilizer system, parking auxiliary devices. It is available in both coupe and hatchback versions.

Separately, the Citroen C5, which is being displayed in Geneva Motor Show, will be launched in Chinese market by the end of this year at the earliest opportunity, earlier Chinese report said.

China Daily also reported that C5 is likely to be locally produced in 2009 at Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Company's second plant in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[CCF mod]

Dongfeng Citreon to rebuild sales network after slump.

March 31, 2008, 2008 - Liu Weidong, general manger of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Company Ltd., said recently to the media that the sales of the company's Citroen brand models have slumped drastically in 2007. In a bid to attract excellent marketing talents, the company is planning to move its commercial division to Shanghai; meanwhile, the carmaker is set to rebuild its nationwide sales network to boost its capability of selling luxury car models.

Dongfeng Citroen Auto, the French car maker Peugeot Citroen's Chinese venture with Dongfeng Motor Corporation, achieved the annual tasks of 2007 in profits-increasing and cost-reducing, but the sales volume of its Citreon models failed to hit that year's target. In 2007, the sales revenue of Dongfeng Citroen vehicles reached RMB 20.62 billion, representing an increase of 7.24% over the previous year and a 31.53% increase in net profit year on year. A total of 206,000 Dongfeng Citroen vehicles were sold in the whole year, but only 115,000 of them are Citroen brand vehicles, far from that year's sales target.

According to Liu Weidong, three reasons led to the Citroen's failure to achieve the goal: the newly launched model C2 and the luxury model C Triomphe did not sell so well as expected, the roll-out of the new-generation Elysee model, originally scheduled for September, was postponed to April 2008, and the corporate management team was reshuffled in 2007.

The lack of appeal for marketing talents is another disturbing albatross around the general manager's neck. Dongfeng Citroen Auto is planning to move its commercial division to Shanghai, China's most booming economic center, to attract excellent marketing talents. The general manager said the current marketing team of Dongfeng Citroen cannot match up to the company's new strategies and targets, and as a result it's quite necessary to recruit better staff and rebuild a wider sales network in an effort to meet the market challenges ahead.

Dongfeng Citroen Auto will have three new models for launch in 2008, of which the new Elysee is expected to be rolled out in April 8, 2008. The sales target of the company's vehicles in 2008 is set at 260,000 units, and 150,000 of them will be Citroen brand vehicles. The best-seller is supposed to be the C4 model, a Citroen C-Triomphe that is to be launched in the second half of the year.

Dongfeng Motor, China's third largest automotive group after Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) and FAW, also runs joint ventures with Japan's Nissan and Honda.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[CCF mod]

All-new luxury Peugeot cars to be made in China.

May 5, 2008 - Since its re-entry to China four years ago, French car brand Peugeot has been widely recognized for its high quality. Peugeot Citroen has been boosting its R&D and production capacities in China, and will make high-end new cars locally for the Chinese market next year, said Jean-Louis Chamla, the company's vice president of international sales and marketing, at the 2008 Beijing auto show.

Although it has only four years of presence and limited production capacity in China, Peugeot Citroen has seen its huge growth rate and potential in the country. With the launch of the PSA Peugeot Citroen's Shanghai R&D center and the operation of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Auto's platform 3, Dongfeng Peugeot as the Chinese venture of the French carmaker will accelerate its growth in China in the coming few years, and the Chinese market will play an increasingly important role in Peugeot's global strategy.

Peugeot Citroen will produce its high-end new car models locally in China after the new Peugeot platform now under construction is completed. The China-based Platform 3 is the carmaker's state-of-the-art platform outside France and can produce the same latest Peugeot models as in Europe. The new platform of Dongfeng Peugeot will start operation in June 2009 to make all-new Peugeot cars, inlcuding Peugeot 407 and even better Peugeot sedans, for Chinese consumers.

The company plans to introduce two models into the Chinese market annually in three years, in order to enhance its market share. Peugeot Citroen expects to sell 1500,000 vehicles in China this year, and also plans to further expand its distribution network across the country. Currently, the company has 220 distributors in 190 Chinese cities, and plans to boost the number to 260 by the end of this year.

Peugeot Citroen unveiled its new C Elysee model at the Beijing auto exhibit, and more models will be introduced to China later this year. Last year, Dongfeng Peugeot sold 63,661 Peugeot 307 vehicles and 28,558 Peugeot 206 vehicles in the Chinese market.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[L.A.]

Do we know when the 408 will be produced in that plant?

 

[CCF mod]

Dongfeng Peugeot to recall defective 1.6L 307 hatchbacks.

June 2, 2008 - Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd (DPCA), PSA Peugeot Citroen's Chinese joint venture, announced that from May 30, 2008, it would recall 4,940 faulty 1.6L Dongfeng Peugeot 307 hatchbacks produced between December 4, 2007 and April 25, 2008.

DPCA has submitted a report on vehicles recall to China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). According to the company’s statement, the branch harness of the Manual Power-Assisted Stecring Pressure Switch in some engine harness may touch the exhaust manifold heat shield, which may lead to the melt of harness insulation and cause a safety hazard. DPCA will replace the harness of the Manual Power-Assisted Stecring Pressure Switch for free. Up to now no accident has been reported.

DPCA will contact consumers who have their vehicles affected through dealerships of Dongfeng Peugeot.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[CCF mod]

Peugeot to Add 15 China Models by 2011 to Win Back Market Share.

June 12, 2008 - PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second- biggest automaker, will add as many as 15 models in China by the end of 2011 as it seeks to reverse falling market share in the world's fastest-growing major auto market.

The carmaker will add two models this year, and 12 or 13 in the following three years, Claude Vajsman, its China operations chief executive office, said in an interview in Beijing today.

Peugeot's China sales to consumers rose 8 percent in the first five months, half the pace of the overall market, as drivers shunned its aging 206 compacts and other models. The automaker is banking on China, Russia and other emerging markets to generate two-thirds of its growth over the next two years.

"Given the fierce competition in China, it's vital for Peugeot to have more appealing models in the market as early as possible,'' said Zhang Xin, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Co. in Beijing. ``It took a long time for Chinese consumers to accept French car-styling.''

Higher prices for steel, aluminum and other materials will also likely wipe about 100 million yuan ($15 million) from Peugeot's China profit this year, Vajsman said. The Paris-based carmaker aims to share the increasing prices with suppliers and it's designing new parts to cut manufacturing costs.

"Rising raw material costs are having a big impact on all automakers including us,'' Vajsman said. "Increasing interest rates are also leading to rising costs for our dealers.''

China raised interest rates six times last year. On June 7, the central bank also told lenders to set aside a record 17 percent of deposits from June 15. The world's fastest-growing major economy wants to cool lending as it battles to contain inflation close to an 11-year high.

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co., Peugeot's venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co. makes models including 206s, C2 compacts, and Citroen Fukangs in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Global Sales

Peugeot aims to boost global car sales to 4 million a year by 2010, 21 percent more than last year, Frederic Saint-Geours, an adviser to the carmaker's chief executive officer, said last week. The company and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. began building a factory in Russia on June 10.

Volkswagen AG, the biggest overseas carmaker in China, boosted sales in the country 28 percent in the first four months of the year. The company, Europe's largest automaker, aims to sell 1 million vehicles in China this year.

China's industrywide car sales to dealers rose 17 percent in the first five months of the year to 3.02 million.

Source: Bloomberg

 

[CCF mod]

Citroen China News - Death to the ZX, rise of the C4.

June 19, 2008 - Citroen have a very nice line up in China, that appears to be bringing out new models all the time. The Citroen ZX is finally going out of production in China, but will replaced by the recently updated, China only, Citroen Elysee hatchback. The ZX has run its course in Europe, and will finally be laid to rest ten years after it was last produced in Europe, the ZX has proven popular since it was introduced into China.

Another new model that Dongfeng Citroen will introduce is the C4. Despite being popular in Europe, Citroen have not yet launched it into China leaving them with a large market gap. Currently Citroen have nothing in their range to go up against the ever popular Mazda 3, or the Ford Focus. Citroen hope that introducing the C4 into China, they will be able to enter new market segments and improve sales in each of their segments.

Citroen currently makes the Xsara Picasso MPV, theTriumphe (worlds strongest car?) the Elysee, and the Citroen C2.

The Citroen C2 is not the same model that was launched in the EU marketplace, instead the Chinese C2 is a facelifted Peugeot 206 which actually looks a lot better than the Peugeot 206. The Citroen C2 is due to be updated for 2008/9, thus the current C2 has had a price cut of 13,000rmb.

source: China Car Times

 

[CCF mod]

Dongfeng Citroen to build A-class sedan with PSA.

November 10, 2008 - Dongfeng Citroen will build an A-class sedan cooperatively with PSA, said Yves Moulin, managing director of Dongfeng Citroen, at the press briefing of C-Quatre VTS, xinhuanet.com said today.

Dongfeng Citroen needs to develop new products to cover different segments if the company wants to develop further or to change the current sluggish sales, Yves Moulin said. “We need such a product positioned at the A-class model which is priced at between 110,000 yuan ($16,129) and 150,000 yuan, according to our products layout,” he disclosed.

Without elaborating on the new model, Yves Moulin said the new Elysee and C-Triomphe sedans will not be included in the A-class range, as Elysee is priced at between 70,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan and the C-Triomphe is a low-end B-level car. The company will launch C5 in the future to rival Passat, Magoton, Camry, Accord and other B-level cars, he added.

But Yves Moulin stressed that the company hopes the PSA Shanghai design centre can design the new A-class sedan and C5 which can better appeal to Chinese consumers.

Sources said the A-class sedan jointly developed by Dongfeng Citroen and PSA will be displayed at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show in next April and will go on sale by the first half of next year. Dongfeng Citroen surely will launch a series of new cars, a source of Dongfeng Citroen disclosed.

Code-named BX3, the new model will feature young and sporty styling, based on Chinese market demands. According to Dongfeng Citroen vice general manager Wei Wenqing, the BX3 will also go on sale in Europe and Brazils.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[CCF mod]

Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën has big plans for 2009.

December 23, 2008 - Though the company is facing the unprecedented difficulties amid the global financial crisis, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Auto (DPCA) has not slowed its project of making new models for the Chinese market, said xinhuanet.com today. In mid-2009, the joint venture will start production of the Peugeot 408 and will launch this new model simultaneously with the European market.

With construction of the venture's second plant completed, its Platform 3 will be used to make a series of new Peugeot and Citroen models in China. In 2009, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will attack Chinese market leader Volkswagen by producing Peugeot's 407 and 408 cars and the Citroen C5 in the Chinese venture, whose output will reach 460,000 vehicles by 2011.

The Peugeot 408, code-named W23 in the company, is the first Peugeot B-class model to be built in China. It has been revamped for the Chinese market and next year its production will start on Platform 3 at the joint venture's newly built second plant. The China-made Peugeot 408 is to be launched at the same time with its European sister model in the second half of 2009.

The Citroen C5 sedan will be also launched in China in 2009, says PSA. The car will be built at the new factory, too. The sedan will compete with the Passat. The Peugeot 407 is also expected to begin production next year, according to supplier sources. The C5 and the 407 share the new platform.

Currently, Citroen models Fukang, Elysee, C2, Picasso, C-Triomphe, Xsara and Peugeot models 206 and 307 are built at Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Auto in central China's city of Wuhan, but around 70% of its overall sales come from low-priced Fukang, Elysee and C2 models.

The DPCA, a 50:50 joint venture between China's Dongfeng Motor and the French auto giant PSA Group, has plans to introduce new car models for local production. PSA expects to sell 150,000 cars in China this year, a 30% increase over 2007's 115,000 vehicles.

source: Gasgoo.com

 

[logan]

PSA China News

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--French automobile maker PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG.FR) plans to introduce two new models to China each year in the next five years, said Eric Apode, vice president of the company's China Technology Center in Shanghai.

The models will be tailored to Chinese tastes, Apode said, without elaborating.

The French company manufactures cars in China via a joint venture, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co.

Sales in China of Citroen-brand vehicles rose 39% from a year earlier to 108,854 units in the first nine months of this year, while sales of Peugeot vehicles rose 24% to 78,938 units in the nine months ended Sept. 30, according to market research firm JD Power.

 

[logan]

Re: PSA China News

There is only one market really booming in the world and that is China, pity Peugeot only has a very small market share there.

Nicolas Wertans, deputy managing director of the Peugeot brand at Europe’s second-biggest carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen, recently went to Beijing.

“It is the only market that is still booming, at more than 70 percent month-on-month,” he told the Reuters Automotive Summit. “In fact, China came to the rescue of the automotive world,” he said as all carmakers are boosting their sales in that market which is set to become the biggest in the world.

But Peugeot is rather small in China, with a market share of just 1.2/1.3 percent.


PSA in total has a share of 3.5 percent and chief executive Philippe Varin has said this needs to rise to at least 10 percent. To get there, Peugeot is working on a new model, especially designed for the Chinese market.

It will be a sedan, Wertans said, but he declined to give more details.

The car needs to become the flagship model for the market there. “You will hear more in a few weeks,” he said.