Despite the recent economic downturn, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen is sticking to its goal of selling 4 million vehicles in 2010. That goal seems quite lofty at this point — both brands are only expected to tally 2 million sales in 2008 — but Jean-Philippe Collin, head of PSA Group’s Peugeot brand, is deadest on achieving that target.
“If the current trend in Europe continues, we will achieve that,” he told Automotive News.
The plan to more than double current sales includes a wide expansion of PSA’s offerings. Right now the automaker competes in 72 percent of the segments, with plans in place to grow that percentage to 90.
The French automaker will also focus on expanding in developing regions, such as China, Russia and South America. A return to the U.S. has not been ruled out, but is not PSA’s focus at this point. “We are not ruling out going back to the U.S.,” Collin said. “We are closely watching the opportunities resulting from the crisis in North America.”
And despite Peugeot’s heavy involvement with auto racing, there are currently no plans to bring a new sports car to market. Instead, the brand will focus on new technologies, and is even developing a diesel-hybrid system for launch in 2011.
While PSA’s sales target does seem a bit steep at this point, it sounds as if the automaker has plenty in the hopper that could help it achieve that goal. The picture should become a bit clearer in 2009, when the automaker plans to sell 3.4 million units.
