PSA Peugeot Citroen vehicles sales up 3.8% in 2007

PSA Peugeot Citroen sold 3,428,000 vehicles and CKD units in 2007, up 1.8% from the 3,366,000 units sold in 2006. This performance reflects a solid 3.8% increase in vehicles sales – led by an 11.1% rise in international markets and a return to growth in Europe, where unit sales rose 1.2% – offsetting a 22.5% decline in sales of CKD units. The pace of growth accelerated in the second half, with vehicles sales increasing by 6.2% versus 1.7% in the first six months.

PSA Peugeot Citroen's strengths in 2007

Sales of the Peugeot 207, which was introduced in France in April 2006, totalled 521,000 units, exceeding the target of 500,000 units for the model's first full year on the market. The Peugeot 206 continued to increase its international expansion, helped by the launches in China, Iran and Malaysia in 2006, and confirmed its sales potential with 309,000 units sold.

Combined worldwide sales of the 206 and 207 rose 7.1% to 830,000; together the two models lead the compact car segment in Europe.

Aggregate sales of the marque's compact lineup – comprising the Peugeot 107, 206, 207 and 1007 – rose 4.8% in 2007 on the back of 20% growth in 2006.

For Citroen, the highlight of 2007 was the success of the C4 Picasso launched in October 2006, with more than 200,000 units sold during the year. The robust performance by the Xsara Picasso, with 120,000 units sold, drove a spectacular 55.1% increase in Citroen's compact MPV sales, making the marque Europe's leading brand in this segment.

With combined sales of 348,000 units in 2007, the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner delivered their best performance ever since their launch more than ten years ago.

New products presented or launched during the 2nd half of the year; Peugeot 308 and Citroen C5 respectively, have met with a very favourable reception. The Citroen C5 is due to go on sale in the first half of 2008 while the Peugeot 308 received the "Golden Steering Wheel" award in Germany and succeeded in bringing in over 83.000 sales within a few weeks of its going on sale.

PSA Peugeot Citroen confirmed its leadership of the European light commercial vehicles market, with registrations up 4.9% to 387,000 units, representing an 18.8% market share. The light commercial vehicle range has been renewed at a rapid pace since mid-2006. After the June 2006 launch of the Peugeot Boxer and Citroen Relay and the January 2007 introduction of the Peugeot Expert and Citroen Dispatch – elected 2008 Vans of the Year –, the new Peugeot Bipper and Citroen Nemo will go on sale at the beginning of 2008, followed by the new Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner during the first half. Following this complete overhaul of the Peugeot and Citroen light commercial vehicle ranges, carried out in record time, the Group will have its youngest ever lineup (with an average model age of 2.2 years) and will be poised to further extend its leadership of this market in 2008.

PSA Peugeot Citroen also confirmed its environmental leadership in 2007. For the second year in a row, the Group sold one million vehicles emitting less than 140 g/km of CO2, of which 750,000 were under 130 g/km. In the less than 130 g/km CO2 segment in Europe, the Group’s market share stood at more than 26%.

Western Europe (18 countries): back to sales growth

In a European car and light commercial vehicle market up by a slight 0.7%, PSA Peugeot Citroen's registrations rose for the first time since 2002, to 2,333,000 units – including 1,226,000 Peugeots and 1,107,000 Citroens – representing an increase of 0.9%. After several years of market share decrease, the Group's market share held firm at 13.8% (7.3% for Peugeot and 6.6% for Citroen) in a challenging business environment. PSA Peugeot Citroen is Europe's second largest manufacturer of cars and the leading manufacturer of light commercial vehicles.

PSA Peugeot Citroen is market leader in France, Spain, Belgium and Portugal and is ranked second in Italy, Denmark and Switzerland.

In France, where the Group is the leading manufacturer, combined Peugeot and Citroen car and light commercial vehicle registrations rose by 1.9% to 779,800 units in a market up 3.5%, representing a 30.9% market share.

In Spain, the Group maintained its leadership position in cars and light commercial vehicles with 19.2% of the market. Citroen was once again the country's biggest selling marque, with 203,000 registrations and a 10.7% market share.

In a United Kingdom market up 2.8%, the Group's car and light commercial vehicle registrations rose by 1.8% to 286,000 units and its market share held firm at 10.4% in 2007.

In Italy, PSA Peugeot Citroen’s fourth largest market in unit sales, the Group sharply increased its share to 9.9% from 9.5% in a market that expanded by 6.2% during the period. Registrations rose by 10.7% to 269,000.

In Germany, market share stood at 5.5%. A change in VAT rules at the beginning of the year triggered a sharp 7.9% drop in the market and Group registrations were also down, by 10.6%.

Outside Western Europe: vehicles sales up 11.1%

Outside Western Europe, Group sales of vehicles and CKD units exceeded one million units for the third year in a row. These markets represented 32.2% of worldwide sales for the year, versus 31.8% in 2006 and 30.4% in 2005.

Sales of vehicles outside Western Europe rose by 11.1%, led by faster expansion in the Group's priority regions.

In Eastern Europe, where PSA Peugeot Citroen is the second largest manufacturer, sales rose 15.5% to 132,000 units, outperforming the market.

In the six main countries of Central Europe (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia), unit sales totalled 115,000 units. This represented an increase of 13.9% in a market up 10.2%, giving the Group an 11.7% share versus 11.3% in 2006.

In Russia, a new priority growth region for the Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen registrations rose by a third to 36,000 units in a fast growing market (+35%).

In a Chinese market up by a strong 24.5% and following a strong sales growth (+63%) in 2006, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile (DPCA) sold 209,000 vehicles in 2007. This represented an increase of 3.1% and gave DPCA a market share of 4%. A product plan has been drawn up, and restructuring of the Citroen network is underway, along with the development of the Peugeot network, to help consolidate sales in 2008.

In the Mercosur region (Brazil and Argentina), PSA Peugeot Citroen registrations rose 32.5% to 208,000 units, outperforming a very fast growing car market (+ 27.4% overall, including rises of 27.6% in Brazil and 26.6% in Argentina). In Brazil, registrations rose 33.3% to 129,000 units, for a 5.5% market share, while in Argentina, unit sales expanded 31.1% and market share improved by 0.5 points to 15%.

Growth accelerated in the second half

Sales growth accelerated in the second half of 2007 in Europe as well as outside Europe. In Western Europe, sales were up 2.6% over the period (-0.1% for the first half). Outside Western Europe, vehicles sales increased to 15.6% (+7.1% in the first half) supported by the Mercosur Group results (+44.6% in the second half against +14.4% in the first half).

2008 Sales Outlook

In a still highly competitive marketplace, demand in Europe in 2008 should remain at 2007 levels. For PSA Peugeot Citroen, the year will mark a new phase in the model renewal process, with the launch of the new Citroen C5, the expansion of the Peugeot 308 line-up, and the introduction of the Citroen Nemo and Peugeot Bipper small commercial vehicles, as well as the new Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner. Combined with the ramp-up of the models introduced in 2007, these new models should drive faster growth in the Group's European unit sales.

As a result, the Group expects to sell around 3,550,000 to 3,650,000 units sales of assembled vehicles and CKD units in 2008, representing an increase of around 5%. This growth should be stronger in the second half of the year than in the first six months, as a result of the scheduled launches of new vehicles. This objective is in line with the CAP 2010 action plan.