PSA Peugeot Citroën and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) have officially started vehicle production at PCMA Rus, their joint plant in Russia.
The plant, which is owned 70% by PSA Peugeot Citroën and 30% by MMC is located at Kaluga, 180 km to the south-west of Moscow.
The Kaluga plant will begin by producing the Peugeot 308, followed by the Citroën C4 and the Citroën C-Crosser, Peugeot 4007 and Mitsubishi Outlander SUV models. The plant will be fully operational in 2012. From that date, the annual production capacity of the plant will be 125,000 units, split 85,000 mid-range sedan vehicles for Peugeot and Citroën and 40,000 mid-range SUVs for Peugeot, Citroën and Mitsubishi.
Philippe Varin, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën, and Takashi Nishioka, Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) represented the two JV participants.
The PCMA Rus plant is described by PSA as ‘an extremely compact factory’, with optimised workspace divided between just two buildings: one for the paint shop, and one for the body in white and assembly workshops.
The plant will employ about 3,000 people, from which approximately 2,600 will be trained at the local training centre built in cooperation with the Government of the Kaluga Region. Philippe Varin said that the opening illustrates the willingness of PSA Peugeot Citroën to establish a long term presence in Russia, as well as its confidence in the growth potential of the Russian automobile market.
“It also embodies PSA Peugeot Citroën’s ambition to be a global player,” Varin said.