The announcement comes after sales of the Mitsubishi-based Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zéro have nearly hit rock bottom. Over the first half of this year the two automakers sold only 1,787 units throughout all of the European Union, missing sales targets by a long shot.
Customers are not as open to buying an EV as many companies had predicted several years ago, contributing to the iOn and the C-Zéro's downfall. The cars' final blow came when Renault and Nissan launched more affordable and more practical electric vehicles.
PSA is turning to fleet buyers such as the French postal service, France Télécom and even the French government to liquidate its excess stock of EVs. To get the attention of non-fleet buyers the automaker is temporarily offering the iOn and the C-Zéro at €10,900 (roughly $13,400), which represents a rebate of 63 percent. It is important to note that the aforementioned price tag factors in a €7,000 (about $8,600) bonus from the government.
Neither side has mentioned when EV shipments from Japan to France are scheduled to resume.
Signed in 2008, the agreement between PSA and Mitsubishi called for the shipment of 100,000 EVs over an undefined period of time.
