Peugeot-Citroen alliance (PSA) likely to set up shop in Andhra Pradesh

Wheelosphere reported on PSA’s plans to get back into the Indian automotive market way back in December 2009 and now we have some concrete information to support the same. PSA earlier contemplated producing cars in India through a JV with UK based Caparo Group’s Indian subsidiary, Caparo India. While we aren’t sure if PSA will take the JV route or go alone, we do know that they are seriously considering setting up a state of the art 700 million Euro ($884 million) plant to produce 100,000 cars per annum in Andhra Pradesh.

The above news was confirmed by a person in direct contact with the French firms. The automobile world is changing with several JVs and partnerships forged between several manufacturers to consolidate and share, the two best ways to survive. Bloomberg quotes that PSA officials will meet later this month to to take a call on the project. “Peugeot is studying opportunities in India,” Pierre-Olivier Salmon, a spokesman in Paris, told Bloomberg. There is no decision on India and no timetable for a decision, he added. Peugeot find the Indian market too hot to ignore and we do think that Peugeot’s stylish models will be well received in India.