PSA Eager to Tap into GM’s Strength in S. America

PSA Peugeot Citroen wants to join forces in South America with alliance partner General Motors Co., which sold 1.05 million vehicles there in 2012, the Financial Times reports.

PSA sold 283,000 vehicles in the region last year.

Maxime Picat, managing director of the Peugeot brand, tells the newspaper that the French company could benefit from GM's economies of scale in that region by collaborating with it on purchasing and product development.

PSA is scrambling to reduce its dependence on the sluggish European market by expanding in countries with fast-growing car demand, the FT notes. Picat says the company also aims to build its presence in China and Russia, where it sold 442,000 and 78,000 vehicles, respectively, last year.

The GM-PSA alliance formed in February 2012 currently involves shared purchasing, logistics and product development projects in Europe.