PSA Peugeot-Citroen has confirmed it is in talks with the Russian authorities and potential partners about building an assembly plant for its cars in Russia.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“We are studying an industrial investment in Russia that would produce cars for the local market,” a Peugeot-Citroen spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.
He reportedly said the company is exploring a number of avenues, including a partnership with a Russian company, and said Peugeot-Citroen will give some guidance on its decision in the coming weeks.
He said it was too soon to comment on the potential size of the investment. A Russian press report cited by the news agency said the French company is preparing to spend EUR200m on creating an industrial foothold in Russia.
Dow Jones said that Peugeot-Citroen’s Russian sales -mainly of Peugeot 307 and Citroen C4 models -ballooned by 84% in the first four months of this year in a market that grew by 14%, but the French company’s market share was only 1.4%.
It also noted that Peugeot-Citroen rival Renault already has a car assembly operation near Moscow with Avtoframos, a joint venture with the city of Moscow, that produces cheap Logan sedans.
Renault disclosed last week it is also talking to AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest car maker, about possible collaboration, Dow Jones added.
