Peugeot plans US return 30 years after exit

NEW YORK: Some 30 years after exiting the US due to plunging sales, Peugeot is preparing a return to a market where it previously knew glory at the famed Indianapolis 500.

PSA Group chief executive Carlos Tavares said this week that the Peugeot – a brand known for its lion logo – is the parent company’s pick for the US market. The company plans to sell Peugeot autos in the US by 2026 in line with a multi-step 10-year plan first announced in 2016.

The comeback is being devised as PSA, which also sells cars under the Citroen and Opel brands, faces pressure from investors to diversify its revenues beyond Europe at a time when US sanctions have torpedoed ambitions in Iran and the Chinese auto market has slowed considerably.

What kind of cars will be sold? What will be the silhouette? Will Peugeot work through existing dealerships, an expensive proposition in some key cities, or sell directly to customers and skip certain markets?

For now, the automaker isn’t offering many details.

“We believe we’re being frugal,” said Larry Dominique, chief executive of PSA North America.

“We believe we’re being very careful and making sure that we do this the right way because new brands entering the US and Canadian market does not happen very often.”

Auto experts say the ambitious plan will not be easy to execute.

“I think Peugeot will struggle to get back into the US market,” said longtime industry consultant Maryann Keller. “It will be expensive and take years.”

“No one under the age of 50 recalls seeing a Peugeot on the road,” Keller said, adding that 1970s reruns of the schlumpy Peugeotdriving detective ‘Columbo’ are not top of mind any more.

Peugeot plans initially to sell vehicles in the US that are imported from China and Europe. — AFP