Peugeot Aims To Become No. 7 Automaker Worldwide

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Peugeot Aims To Become No. 7 Automaker Worldwide, But No U.S. Return Planned

Just the Facts:

* Peugeot is currently the No. 10 automaker in worldwide sales.
* The company plans to expand, but not into the United States.
* China and Brazil are the targets of near-term expansion.


PARIS — Despite plans to climb three places on the list of the 10 largest automakers, up to number 7 in the world, Peugeot still has no immediate plans to re-enter the U.S. market.

Instead, the company plans expansion in both China (where it recently unveiled the 408 sedan) and South America. Peugeot left the U.S. in 1991.

Xavier Peugeot, the company's sales and marketing boss and family scion, says the automaker "keeps an eye" on the U.S. market and "continuously evaluates" its potential. Though it has no plans to return to the U.S. in the near future, it will look "more seriously" at returning in the longer term, he says.

On the new-model front, the French company says it will produce a GTI version of the successor to its current 207 B-segment car (likely to be badged 208). Reportedly, this car will weigh less and handle better than the current 207. The new 208 model range also promises to be more fuel-efficient, benefiting from a new range of three-cylinder diesels and a stop-start system.

Peugeot also wants to be known for coupes again, says Xavier Peugeot, as it was for the 406 Coupe of the early 1990s and the 304 and 504 Coupes of the 1960s and '70s.

The automaker has just launched the stylish RCZ 2+2 and is developing a diesel hybrid version of that same car — although no production decision has been made. Work has begun on a replacement for its slow-selling 407 Coupe, though that, too, is not yet in the product plan.

Semi-niche models like the RCZ and sister brand Citroen's DS3 have been made economically viable through the increased sharing not only of platforms but of modules including suspension, powertrains, fascia innards and electrical architecture. More than 50 percent of the RCZ is shared with Peugeot's 308 hatch, for instance.

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