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Old 31st January 2012, 09:52   #1
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ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Source & Full Article on Economic Times

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MUMBAI: A grim financial situation precipitated by falling sales in its home market has compelled Europe's second-largest car manufacturer, PSA Peugeot Citroen, to review its India plans.

The French automaker, which had zeroed in on Sanand in Gujarat as the location for a Rs 4,500-crore project to produce 170,000 vehicles per annum, has initiated efforts to shut down its office in Mumbai, says a person close to the development. According to the proposed plan, the first car, a mid-size sedan, was to roll out in 2014.
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Old 31st January 2012, 10:04   #2
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

It will indeed be a tough situation for some of these European makers this year.
Speculation has already had its first victim.
I feel, its not all that rosy for Indian car makers this year and the year to come. I would expect a sub 75K sales per month at-least twice this year.
But still hope that this never happens
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Old 31st January 2012, 10:07   #3
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

What a shame if Peugeot pulls out of India entirely, really is. Their cars looked very promising, gorgeous even! You know something is really amiss if a company starts talking of "frugal engineering".

Here's hoping they don't pull out entirely, that 508 looks simply ooh-la-la-ooh-la-la (yes, it was my fantasy-ish). C'mon Frenchies, don't surrender just yet!
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Old 31st January 2012, 10:24   #4
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Thats bad news. Their re-entry looked so promising and people were interested in the new launches which were planned. This is Gujarat's loss too.

Was it a poor response to the Puegot stall at the Auto Expo one of the reasons too coz I feel the management was trying to guage the Indian customer's response to the launches. I guess the response was luke warm at the expo.
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Old 31st January 2012, 10:48   #5
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Peugot's re-entry was more media hype than anything concrete, announcing a large scale operation doesn't take much effort, but unlike VW they didn't create enough of a buzz to keep the market interested. The current situation in Europe will be bad for PSA, I guess their operations in LatAm will keep them occupied. I didn't expect Peugot to create any waves, if they come to the market with CBUs initially, it will be a repeat of the Volvo story.
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Old 31st January 2012, 11:02   #6
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

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Originally Posted by iliketurtles View Post
What a shame if Peugeot pulls out of India entirely, really is. C'mon Frenchies, don't surrender just yet!
Shame? They have done that once, and many people lost their money!

If the news is true, and Peugeot does indeed postpone India plans (or go for a JV) I wouldnt consider their cars at all. Reason - They are just not committed to the Indian market, and would disappear due to 'home market' tensions. Moreover - when familiar and committed (Compared to Peugeot anyways) brands like FIAT are struggling in India - I doubt Peugeot can create a success story in the Indian market.
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Originally Posted by avira_tk View Post
Peugot's re-entry was more media hype than anything concrete, announcing a large scale operation doesn't take much effort, but unlike VW they didn't create enough of a buzz to keep the market interested.
Judging by the number of road test scoops - they have been doing extensive tests for the 207 hatchback and 508 sedan. I wouldn't ignore it as 'media hype'.

Last edited by CrAzY dRiVeR : 31st January 2012 at 11:04.
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Old 31st January 2012, 11:09   #7
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

This is bad news, i thought trouble in home market should only make them more eager to enter into faster growing markets elsewhere (like Asia). At least we are growing vis-a-vis Europe which is in fact a shrinking market.

This is second time exit for Peugeot, the earlier entry cars were good and we did get to see some of them on the roads when they tied up with PAL i believe.
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Old 31st January 2012, 11:18   #8
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Maybe Peugeot feels a bit lazy to take the effort to expand its presence in India given the turmoil in its home market. In any case, this is a sad situation for Peugeot. Their cars look awesome. Had they launched them , it would have given a tough competition to its competitors. Hope they reconsider their plans and stay focused for India.
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Old 31st January 2012, 11:22   #9
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR View Post
Shame? They have done that once, and many people lost their money!

If the news is true, and Peugeot does indeed postpone India plans (or go for a JV) I wouldnt consider their cars at all. Reason - They are just not committed to the Indian market, and would disappear due to 'home market' tensions. Moreover - when familiar and committed (Compared to Peugeot anyways) brands like FIAT are struggling in India - I doubt Peugeot can create a success story in the Indian market.


They disappeared once. They are fully capable of doing it again. I wouldn't touch them with a pole. With so many options to choose from why would I look at them?

But who knows our memories are short. They left about decade and a half ago. Maybe most have forgotten that they were here earlier and then left their customers fending for themselves.

If it was me, I wouldn't have allowed them back.
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Old 31st January 2012, 11:36   #10
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Is it just me or does anybody else feel that people running French & Italian car companies are not very smart? Peugeot, Citroen, Renault & Fiat are close to zero presence in two most important countries of the next decade - China & India. These companies only seem to have presence in Europe & in countries that were once their colonies (African countries basically).
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Old 31st January 2012, 11:39   #11
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

There was a news item a few days back that PSA might enter into a JV/merger or some sort of agreement with Fiat. Could that have something to do with this decision? I mean Peugeot might not want to commit resources to India until the situation with respect to their agreement with Fiat becomes clearer.

Last edited by StarrySky : 31st January 2012 at 11:42.
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Old 31st January 2012, 11:47   #12
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Quote:
Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR View Post
Judging by the number of road test scoops - they have been doing extensive tests for the 207 hatchback and 508 sedan. I wouldn't ignore it as 'media hype'.
The road tests received extensive coverage, I havn't seen any news items about a large construction site where the new plant was to be set up. VW had a roadblock ad in TOI about their investments in India when Polo was launched, with the 207 launch(assumption here) could Peugot have showcased something similar?
That was my reasoning about media hype, not the interest it generated in automotive forums, but PSA's actual commitment to manufacturing.
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Old 31st January 2012, 12:09   #13
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

If the European Auto makers get 0% duty under reciprocity clause, Peugot may still enter as CBU.
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Old 31st January 2012, 12:20   #14
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Peugeot has come a cropper second time around; at least no customers suffered. Had they taken bookings and wound up, that would have brought back the flood of bad memories of the 309 era where many had paid and up and weren't refunded. What ever the desirability quotient of the products, this shows nothing but a total lack of commitment and determination.

Going of topic: I think we living in India are 'reasonably' shielded from these 'economic' fluctuations affecting the west. It's something like you live a 'high' life when the economy is fine and are down in the 'dumps' when the going gets tough, I prefer the 'moderate' life we have in India, for now at least.

Last edited by Durango Dude : 31st January 2012 at 12:28.
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Old 31st January 2012, 12:24   #15
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re: ET : Peugeot shuts down Mumbai office. EDIT : Moving to Ahmedabad

Quote:
Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR View Post
Shame? They have done that once, and many people lost their money!

If the news is true, and Peugeot does indeed postpone India plans (or go for a JV) I wouldnt consider their cars at all. Reason - They are just not committed to the Indian market, and would disappear due to 'home market' tensions. Moreover - when familiar and committed (Compared to Peugeot anyways) brands like FIAT are struggling in India - I doubt Peugeot can create a success story in the Indian market.
It would doubtlessly be a shame because we (as a bunch of car fanatics) would be deprived of the chance to drive what seems like a fantastic car on paper. Peugeot's longevity or the lack of it is a secondary concern purely from a car lover's perspective.

Everyone makes mistakes CrAzY. That doesn't mean they shouldn't get the chance to right their wrongs. Skoda is looked down upon by many among us today for their poor after sales and service, but there are many among us that are still giving them the chance to shine by buying Skoda's, being quite pleased with the experience on the whole. Just writing Peugeot off is wrong. Yes, they mucked up. Badly. But they still deserve a chance
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