Shanghai, May 27 (Gasgoo.com) French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen announced a shake-up of its senior management yesterday and will relocate an executive board-level official to Shanghai to oversee the company's Asian operations, media reported.
Gregoire Olivier, aged 49, until now Peugeot's head of automotive strategy, will be based in Shanghai as head of the carmaker's operations in China and other Asian markets. Expansion in China has become a priority for Europe's second-largest carmaker.
The French automaker plans to build a third plant in a Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp, and is working on another joint venture with Changan Automobile Group to make light vans. Dongfeng-Peugeot JV sold 120,300 cars in the first four months of this year, up 63% from a year earlier.
Peugeot-Citroen expects to sell 400,000 cars in China this year and has set a target to sell 2 million vehicles annually in China by 2020, raising the company's Chinese market share to 10% from the current 3.5%.
Mr. Olivier's appointment signaled the seriousness with which Peugeot was taking emerging markets, Financial Times reported. China overtook the U.S. last year to become the world's largest auto market.
