PSA Peugeot Citroen to return to the US after 25 years

06 Apr 2016

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PSA Peugeot Citroen is planning to return to the US after a 25-year absence by taking on mobility services like Uber Technologies Inc and Daimler AG's Car2go,  as the French automaker looked for opportunities outside Europe. The company said yesterday that it would launch a car-sharing service in the US by 2017.

The company is aiming to boost revenue 25 per cent by 2021 and had now branded itself Groupe PSA.  It plans to broaden its range of services in addition to  expanding its traditional automaking business in places like Iran, India and southeast Asia.

Emerging mobility offerings would provide a route back to the US, where Peugeot had not sold cars since 1991, chief executive officer Carlos Tavares said during the presentation of his ''Push to Pass'' growth plan.

''PSA will not become a global company if it doesn't come back to North America,'' Tavares said. ''We notice that our main competitors have been there for 50 years, but those who have been there for 50 years are also the ones we are beating in Europe and China.''

Peugeot's expansion in the US and elsewhere formed part of an effort to become less dependent on Europe, which accounted for 62 per cent of its auto sales last year. The market's decline to a two-decade low following the sovereign-debt crisis led to a bailout by the French government and China's Dongfeng Motor Corp in 2014.

According to commentators, the move back across the Atlantic was another sign of the strong resurgence and renewed confidence at Peugeot which was on the verge of financial collapse just three years ago.

The company had returned to profits after a two year period of deep cost-cutting. With the  rebounding European car market, the now profitable firm was switching gears into expansion mode after having successfully stabilised the business. The expansion into the US was among one of many strategic goals the company said it hoped to achieve over the next five years in its new ''Push to Pass'' plan.

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