PSA sales slumped 10% last year after record 2018

PARIS — PSA Group’s global vehicle sales fell 10 percent last year to 3.49 million, down from a record 3.88 million in 2018, as the automaker suffered from declining volumes in China, the Middle East and Africa.

In its European home market, PSA’s sales declined by 2.5 percent in 2019 to 3.11 million vehicles, with its Opel/Vauxhall brand, which dropped its Adam, Karl and Cascada models, suffering the steepest fall, down 6.4 percent.

In Europe, helped by an increase in sales of light commercial vehicles, PSA maintained its position by achieving a 16.8 percent share in a market that was up a little more than 1 percent, the automaker said in a statement on Thursday. In 2018, PSA’s share had jumped 3.8 points versus 2017 to reach 17.1 percent.

PSA said 2019 was a year of consolidation for its Peugeot marque. The brand’s new generations of the 208 and 2008 small cars will support its sales growth in 2020, PSA said.

Citroen had the strongest growth among the top 12 best-selling brands in Europe in 2020, the company said.

DS was PSA’s only brand to boost sales globally last year, with an increase of 17 percent to 62,512 units. The Peugeot brand saw a fall of 16 percent, Citroen declined 5.1 percent and Opel/Vauxhall fell 5.9 percent.

PSA’s best-selling models recorded sales declines.

The Peugeot 208 small hatchback, the brand’s best-seller, fell by 5.9 percent to 277,562; the second-ranked 3008 compact SUV fell by 8.6 percent to 242,332; the Citroen C3 small hatchback was down by 4.1 percent to 241,092; and the Opel Corsa small hatchback fell by 2 percent to 230,971.

Big gains for established models included a jump of 126 percent for the Opel Combo small van, which relaunched on a PSA platform, to 64,009 sales; and the Peugeot 508 midsize sedan and station wagon, up 245 percent to 59,967, also with the launch of a new generation.

PSA’s sales in China plunged 55 percent to 117,084 vehicles, well below the 1 million-a-year target it had set itself a few years ago.

Sales volumes were also down 23 percent in a contracting Latin American market and 44 percent in the Middle East-Africa region, punished by the group’s forced withdrawal from Iran under threat of U.S. sanctions.

The company gave no sales forecasts for the current year.

PSA and FCA said last month they had agreed on a binding merger in a $50 billion deal that will pave the way to the creation of the world’s fourth-largest automaker.

PSA’s French rival Renault is due to publish its 2019 global sales on Friday.

Automotive News Europe contributed to this report

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