It’s fair to say that North America has never had a love affair with PSA Group, the company that owns Citroën, DS Automobiles, Peugeot, Opel, and Vauxhall. The company hasn’t sold any vehicles in the U.S. since it withdrew from the market in 1991, when it sold only 4,261 vehicles, primarily 405 model sedans.
It’s planning to come back for another round in the next few years, this time with some new bells and whistles.
“Our decision to bring Peugeot back into North America is the culmination of several years of study and research aimed at which of Groupe PSA’s brands would best serve the customer needs of this market,” President and CEO of Groupe PSA North America, Larry Dominique said in a statement. “We are taking a pragmatic approach to entering the North American market and are confident that, from the larger ‘mobility services’ revolution currently taking place, to the more fundamental models of retail, service, financing and logistics – we’ll continue to build our plan on careful, scalable solutions.”
Part of the new strategy will involve PSA Group’s Free2Move car sharing and mobility services, which are undergoing a pilot program in Washington, DC. As of October of last year, there is now a fleet of 600 cars parked on public streets across all 8 wards in the District of Columbia. Users pay a membership fee of $10, then use an app to locate, book, open and pay for short-term, “free floating” rental of the vehicle. PSA Group calls it an “urban mobility navigator.”
As for vehicle sales, the French automaker plans to reintroduce Peugeot vehicles as part of a 10-year plan to revitalize it sales in North America, CEO Carlos Tavares to the media in Paris this week. The cars will initially be sourced from Europe and China. Tavares said the company will hold off on solidifying future plans depending on how talks on Trump administration auto tariffs progress.
“I’m going to wait for the current negotiations to give us more visibility on the tariffs,” Tavares said.
The brand’s current lineup includes a range of vehicles from the 108 mini-car to the mid-size 508 sedan and wagon and 5008 crossover SUV. It has also launched the all-electric e-208 compact hatch.
