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• PSA Peugeot Citroen's Porto Real Plant In Brazil Comes On Stream With The Citroen Xsara Picasso And The Peugeot 206
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• LEONI: Porsche Supplier of the Year

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News of  February 07, 2001
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PSA Peugeot Citroen's Porto Real Plant In Brazil Comes On Stream With The Citroen Xsara Picasso And The Peugeot 206

Rio de Janeiro - The PSA Peugeot Citröen Plant in Porto Real Brazil was inaugurated today by Jean-Martin Folz, Chairman of PSA Peugeot Citroën, in the presence of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of the Federal Republic of Brazil, and Anthony Garotinho, Governor of Rio de Janeiro State.

The new assembly plant located in Porto Real, Rio de Janeiro State, began producing the Citroën Xsara Picasso in late December 2000, and will launch production of the Peugeot 206 within the next few months.

Completed in a record time of two years, the plant is the Group's first to come on stream producing two different Peugeot and Citroën models.

The Porto Real facility is a model plant with three major assets: it features highly efficient production flows, streamlined management and constant attention to environmental concerns.

The plant has a production capacity of 100,000 units a year in three shifts, which could eventually be doubled. As soon as 2001, the plant will create some 2,500 jobs, including more than 1,000 direct jobs.

Porto Real is also the Group's first site to include a technology center for suppliers next to the plant. The center which is to provide 60% of components, will ensure sequential delivery, cut costs and shorten supply lead times.

PSA Peugeot Citroën's investment in its Brazilian operations totals $600 million. To support the Group's development in the country, Peugeot Citroën do Brasil was created in 1997. It is owned 68% by PSA Peugeot Citroën and 32% by Rio de Janeiro State.

The Porto Real plant has a crucial part to play in the Group's strategy in Brazil and the Mercosur countries, a priority region in its international growth strategy. The objective of the two marques is to achieve a combined 8% share of the market.

Peugeot's long-established presence in Argentina and Citroën's recent comeback to the country have helped the Group gain a market share of close to 16.1% with sales of 47,600 vehicles in 2000. In a market that declined by 18.5%, PSA Peugeot Citroën increased sales by nearly 8%. The Buenos Aires plant also enjoyed strong growth, doubling output to 70,000 units and making PSA Peugeot Citroën the country's leading carmaker.

Sales in Uruguay rose by 3.3% to more than 3,000 units in a declining market, in which PSA Peugeot Citröen holds a 18.5% share.

Although the Group's share of the Brazilian market was a modest 2.2% in 2000, with 30,600 vehicles sold, sales rose a healthy 26.4%, compared with a 17.5% increase for the market as a whole. The goal is to reach sales of around 100,000 units fairly quickly by ramping up production and developing two networks that will, in the long term, comprise 200 Peugeot and 90 Citroën sales outlets.

(Feb. 1, 2001)

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