PSA Sheds Citroen and DS Operations in Ireland

PSA Peugeot Citroen plans in September to sell its Citroen and DS brand operations in Ireland to IM Group, an independent distributor based in the U.K., Automotive News Europe reports.

The move in September will reverse PSA's move in 2009 to take control of its local operations from an Irish distributor. The company's Peugeot brand, which uses a different distributor in Ireland, is not affected.

PSA's deputy director in the U.K. tells ANE the Citroen shift is part of a country-by-country review of PSA operations to determine where and how its distribution structure should be adjusted.

The online newspaper notes that BMW, Mazda, Renault and Volkswagen continue to hold control over operations they took back from local distributors over the past 12 years.