While its citizens may have said ‘Non’ to Europe [or at least the proposed EU Constitution], the French car industry is fully embracing international co-operation.
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PSA Peugeot Citroën officially opened its new joint venture plant with Japanese carmaker Toyota in the Czech Republic on Monday.
The venture, formed four years ago, has capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year at the factory at Kolin, some 40 miles (60km) from the Czech capital Prague.
Called Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile (TPCA) the venture makes small cars for the European market.
The Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 go on sale from June 1 in most major markets.
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By GlobalDataThe two car makers have invested €1.3 billion in the project which will initially produce 100,000 models a year for each marque although TPCA president Masatake Enomoto said there was flexibility to vary numbers if necessary.
It is a project that has allowed the two global carmakers to combine their knowledge of product design, styling, production and supplier relationships while learning from each other’s corporate cultures, technologies and processes.
Toyota Motor Corp is considered the world leader in production systems while PSA is an acknowledged leader in European purchasing and supplier relations.
Enomoto said: “We have certainly learned a lot from each other and I am sure there is still a lot more to learn.”
Vice president Jean-Pierre Chantosel added that the main advantage of building a factory in the Czech Republic was wage costs, currently around 50% lower than in France.
But this was not one-way traffic, he added. “TPCA also wants to be seen as a good citizen of the Czech Republic. We are donating €67,000 to the local municipality to build a new sports arena and €266,000 to the city of Kolin for the construction of a new pedestrian bridge.”
The venture is also supporting the social and economic development of the region with a donation of €133,000 to the Partnership for the Region of Kolin bringing its donations to the area to €867,000 since 2002.
The plant employs 3,000 people with another 4,000 jobs around the Czech Republic in suppliers and related industries.
Enomoto said was room for further expansion at the 124-hectare site although there were no immediate plans to add further models to the production line.
