PSA
Peugeot Citroën and its Chinese Partner Dongfeng Motor Group Announce
Construction of New Plant in Wuhan, China
Paris - At a board
meeting in Paris of their Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Peugeot
Citroën Automobiles (DPCA), PSA Peugeot Citroën and Dongfeng Motor
Group Company Ltd presented the details of the new industrial plan
unveiled in April.
The two partners
announced that Wuhan, Hubei Province, has been selected
as the site of a new production facility with capacity of
150,000 vehicles a year. The new unit will be located near
DPCA's existing plant and comprise three main facilities:
body-in-white assembly, paint shop and final assembly. Construction
will begin at the end of the year, with the lines scheduled
to come on stream in 2009. They will be dedicated to the
production of upper mid-range models built on platform 3.
This investment
in China further strengthens DPCA's fast expanding production
base, which already employs more than 8,200 people. The
Wuhan plant currently produces seven different models and
is gradually doubling capacity to increase the original
site's potential output to 300,000 vehicles per year in
2008.
To support
this growth in automobile production, DPCA will also add
capacity at its mechanical components plant in Xiang Fang,
Hubei so as to double the number of engines, gearboxes and
chassis systems supplied to its Wuhan factories.
Following start-up
of production on platforms 1 and 2 in China in mid-2004, the announcement
of a new plant provides further support for the process of strengthening
DPCA's product plan. By the end of the decade, the joint venture
will offer a comprehensive range of vehicles, from compact cars
to large executive saloons. In 2006 alone, three new models are
being launched: the Peugeot 206 in March, the Citroën Ctriomphe
in May and a new Citroën compact at year-end.
Amid continuing strong demand
in the passenger car market, DPCA sold 100 200 units in the first six months,
up 38% from the prior-year period. The joint venture's full-year sales objective
is to exceed 200,000 vehicles.
