CEO Says PSA Will Return to U.S. within 10 Years

CEO Carlos Tavares confirms Groupe PSA will return to the U.S. within a decade as it strives to reduce its reliance on sales in Europe.

The company’s Citroen and Peugeot brands exited the American car market in 1974 and 1991, respectively. PSA closed its liaison office in Detroit in 2013.

CEO Carlos Tavares tells the Financial Times that PSA will begin to reestablish itself in the U.S. through the ride-sharing service alliance with Bollore Group it launched in Europe last summer. The partners currently are focusing on that market with a service that uses Bollore-designed Bluesummer electric four-seat minicars made by PSA in Rennes, France.

Tavares tells the FT the company with export and then locally produce cars in the U.S. But neither step is likely soon. Analysts point out that PSA lacks a distribution network in North America. They also say building enough volume on French-made vehicles to justify a U.S. factory also will take several years.