Automotive News - 2008 Guide to China's Auto Market - (Page 16)

16 GLOBAL AUTOMAKERS/JOINT VENTURES PSA Peugeot Citroen Group Beijing Office, Unit 416, 4th Floor, Tower A Beijing Kelun Building 12A Guanghualu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, P.R. China (86) 10-6581-4158, www.psa.net.cn Top executive: Yves Boutin, chief representative PSA/Peugeot-Citroen SA lagged the overall market last year. Sales of PSA vehicles in 2007 rose only 2.9 percent to 207,255 units, including imports and sales of its joint venture in Wuhan, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co. The China light-vehicle market grew 21.3 percent last year. PSA was slow in rolling out new products. It launched only two redesigned models in China in 2007: the redesigned Citroen Picasso and the Peugeot 307 three-box sedan. The company launched the Peugeot 307 hatchback in February, about 1½ years after Ford launched the hot-selling Focus hatchback. To catch up with the swiftly changing market, this year PSA plans to launch five Peugeot and Citroen brand models based on its existing platforms in China. The company expects the new products will boost sales 35.1 percent to 280,000 units in 2008. In 2009, the second assembly plant in Wuhan will begin production, and the first model will be the Citroen C5. With the new plant, PSA’s capacity in China will be 450,000 units. PSA continues its cost-cutting efforts. All its models source more than 80 percent of their components in China, says the company. Last June, PSA and Hafei Motor Co. signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint venture to assemble light commercial vehicles in Shenzhen. — Lan Lan 2007 2006 JV: Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co. No. 165 Shenlong Ave. Wuhan Economic-Technological Development Area Wuhan City, Hubei Province 430056, P.R. China (86) 27-8429-9882, www.dpca.com.cn Top executive: Liu Weidong, general manager Capacity 220,000 150,000 Production 213,058 201,858 Unit sales 207,255 201,318 Models produced: Citroen C2, Elysee, Fukang (ZX), Picasso, Xsara, Kaixuan (C-Triomphe); Peugeot 206, 307 Ownership: PSA Peugeot Citroen 50% Dongfeng Motor Industry Investment Co. 50% Suzuki Motor Corp. Beijing Office Room 502, Beijing Fortune Building, No. 5 Dongsanhuan Bei Road Chaoyang District, Beijing 100004, P.R. China (86) 10-6590-8040, www.suzuki.com Top executive: Kunihisa Matsubara, general manager Suzuki Motor Corp.’s aging lineup of inexpensive cars hobbled growth in 2007. Suzuki brand sales grew just 1 percent last year to 161,066 domestically made cars, compared with the overall industry’s 21.3 percent increase. “Suzuki has been in China for a long time with its low-end image,” says John Zeng, senior market analyst at the Asian Automotive Research division of Global Insight Inc. “Therefore, they have difficulty gaining market share in tier-one cities.” But Suzuki is trying to change that. In 2007, the automaker introduced a hatchback version of its Tianyu SX4 sedan. In April, Suzuki also introduced two imported SUVs: the Jimmy and Grand Vitara. A total of 21,379 Tianyu SX4 cars were sold in 2007. The hatchback model accounted for 80 percent of SX4 sales, says Yang De Ping of Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile Co. The car’s sticker price starts at $13,233. “Suzuki’s hatchback SX4 is selling well. This Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki Automobile Co., rose 11.7 percent to 37,925 units last year. Sales of Suzuki’s other cars — the Swift, New Swift and Alto — dropped. “Suzuki has only launched three new car models in recent years and made a big mistake by using an old engine for its New Swift,” Zeng says. The automaker is expected to launch an updated version of the Alto this year. Alto sales were down 18.7 percent to 31,930 in 2007. Says Mei Songlin, China general manager for J.D. Power and Associates: “To push up their sales in China, Suzuki has to launch products in the mid-sized segment.” Suzuki primarily competes in small cars, which didn’t grow in 2007. Says Zeng of Global Insight: “Poor brand image” associated with the Alto “and slow product freshenings in China are the main factors that drag Suzuki’s sales down.” — Namrita Chow SUZUKI TIANYU SX4 car will really help Suzuki’s volume in China,” says Yale Zhang, director of emerging markets at the CSM Worldwide consulting firm. With all the changes at Suzuki, Zhang is optimistic: “I don’t think they are in bad shape in China.” Sales of the Wagon R, a minivan made by JV: Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki Automobile Co. No. 1 East Road, Jindezhen City, Jiangxi Province 333002, P.R. China (86) 798-8416-868, www.changhe-suzuki.com Top executive: Takeuchi Masahiro, general manager 2007 2006 Capacity 160,000 160,000 Production 47,470 56,000 Unit sales 47,393 45,689 Models produced: Bei Dou Xing (Suzuki Wagon R+), Liana Ownership: Changhe Group Suzuki Motor Corp. Okaya 51% 46% 3% JV: Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile Co. Yu Dong Town, Ba Nan District, Chongqing 401321, P.R. China (86) 23-6628-8623, www.changansuzuki.com Top executive: Tosiaki Hasimoto, general manager Ownership: 2007 2006 Changan Automobile Co. Capacity 200,000 200,000 Suzuki Motor Corp. Production 107,624 112,565 Sojitz Corp. Unit sales 108,239 112,097 Suzuki Motor Investment Co. Models produced: Suzuki Alto, Swift, New Swift, Tianyu SX4 51% 25% 14% 10% 2008 GUIDE TO CHINA’S AUTO MARKET Automotive News • J.D. Power and Associates • Automotive Resources Asia http://www.psa.net.cn http://www.psa.net.cn http://www.dpca.com.cn http://www.suzuki.com http://www.suzuki.com http://www.changhe-suzuki.com http://www.changansuzuki.com

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