Citroen C5 to be built in China by 2010

Shanghai, May 13 (Gasgoo.com) A senior executive from PSA Peugeot-Citroen said the company will start to build its C5 model in China by 2010, reports Beijing Morning Post today.

"Our engineers at the Wuhan plant are busy making revisions to C5 to meet the discriminating taste of Chinese consumers," said Jean-Louis Chamla, vice president of international sales and marketing of PSA.

He said Citroen will introduce another hatchback this year with two models coming along in 2009 and 2010, though he declined to give details.

Currently, Citroen brand models Fukang, Elysee, C2, Picasso, C-triomphe, Xsara and Peugeot brand models 206 and 307 are being built at Citroen's joint venture plant in central China's city of Wuhan, but around 70% of its overall sales volume comes from low priced Fukang, Elysee and C2 models, which undermined Citroen's brand image and profitability.

"Over the past decade, Citroen has presented a low-end car image to Chinese consumers, and now Citroen wants to change that image," Chamla added.

He further stated that PSA expects to sell 150,000 cars in China this year, a 30 percent increase over 2007's 115,000 vehicles.