China-made Peugeot 207 to go on sale this month

Shanghai, October 7 (Gasgoo.com) Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroen Automobile, a joint venture between the Dongfeng Motor Corp and the PSA Group, is set to launch its Peugeot 207 hatchback and sedan simultaneously to the Chinese market this month, said auto.sina.com today.

The Peugeot 207 hatchback and sedan made by the joint venture will sell at a price between 80,000 yuan ($11,700) and 120,000 yuan when they go on sale in the Chinese market at the end of October. The existing 206 model, whose production is still going on, will not instantly quit the market. The Peugeot 206 now sells in China for 77,800-113,800 yuan.

The China-made Peugeot 207 for the local market is different from the Peugeot 207 model being sold in Europe and will feature some additional modifications particularly made for Chinese customers. The re-styled Peugeot 206 made in Argentina and Brazil was renamed Peugeot 207 Brasil when it was launched in the Brazilian market in May this year.

Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroen launched the previous 206 model in China in early 2006. But with growing competition, the 206 model's sales began to suffer, closing the first half of 2008 with only 15,500 units sold, down 42% from one year earlier. The company hopes the Peugeot 207 will reverse the slide in sales.