Sleeping with the enemy

The PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen, is one of the few car manufacturers that have managed to remain profitable and independent amid tough conditions in the global auto industry.

Instead of merging or acquiring stakes in other companies, PSA has technical cooperation with various brands such as sharing development costs for platforms and engines.

On the engine front, Ford and PSA share their four-cylinder diesel for their mass-selling small family cars and a V6 variation for upmarket models. As well, BMW and PSA jointly developed a 1.6-litre petrol block in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms.

As for platforms, PSA joined hands with Toyota for the A-segment cars in Europe, while PSA turned to Mitsubishi for a compact SUV.

PSA additionally is linked with Fiat Auto to build floorplans for mid-size MPVs, compact vans and full-size people-carriers like the Peugeot Expert as tested in the main story here.

Possible cooperation in the future could be PSA trading its 2.0-litre diesel with Mitsubishi in exchange for a petrol counterpart. Although this strategy is already used with the SUVs, such an approach for passenger saloons has not yet materialised.

Since the French market is predominantly diesel, PSA is expected to specialise with only diesel engine development, including a pending diesel/electric hybrid.

Bangkok Post

Last Updated : Sunday April 08, 2007