PSA/Peugeot-Citroen to sign Russia import deal

French carmaker PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will on Saturday sign an agreement with Russia's economy ministry for the import of car parts, a spokesman said today.

The contract, called a decree 166 contract allowing preferential import duties, is a step toward a later decision on building cars in Russia.

"We have not yet decided where to build a factory or whether we will do it alone or with a partner," the spokesman said. PSA/Peugeot-Citroen CEO Christian Streiff has indicated a decision would be taken this summer.

There have been newspaper reports that PSA/Peugeot-Citroen could link up with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. for a plant in Russia.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has only indicated that it would make cars based on its Platform 2 of medium-sized cars and that production would be relatively modest.