Thursday, August 21, 2003 | |
Peugeot: a surprising survivor In a recent Wall Street Journal article ("Peugeot's Formula for Success," August 4, 2002) attributes PSA Peugeot's increasing market share and profitability to the fact that it avoided some of the merger mania of the 1990s and concentrated on bettering its product and its manufacturing. The company bucks the trend: it makes no SUVs, carries no luxury cars in its lineup, has no plans to re-enter the U.S. market (from which they had an ignominious retreat.) But thanks to savvy management, it is now one of the few profitable auto companies and is growing fast. By contrast, merger-crazy GM, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler have all had problems, in spite of, or maybe because of, recent mergers. But though PSA Peugeot has not undertake any mergers since its painful 1974 acquisition of Citroen, it does have a number of joint ventures that are working to both party's profit.
Through smart engineering, better planning, and new markets in Eastern Europe and China, Peugeot's growth has been steady during a down time for the industry.
Peugeot may well survive the next round of consolidation in the world auto industry. As this table from the WSJ shows, it is moving up in the ranks.
Source: Global Insight Automotive Group
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