[Gooney]

Hey thats one Aston Martin-ish compact car from Peugeot. Priced under 8 lacs and it could well be a game changer in the Indian auto market. Anyway, i do not think product offering will be an issue for Peugeot, provided they choose the right one for India. I believe they have ample time to spread their A. S. S network in India, and that is what they should focus on. If done properly, they could be will ahead of Renault-Nissan and FIAT, even if they choose fall-2013 for their first product (re)launch in India.

[designersf]

Originally Posted by vb-san

It will be interesting to see if Peugeot go with VW model (entry with a high end car), or start with a hatch or C-segment car. If it’s the former, Peugeot 508 will be an ideal candidate.

The 508 looks sensational. One of the best looking D-segment cars I believe, ever!

Originally Posted by ashutoshb

In the press release they are talking about a 'mid-sized' sedan.

This could be it:



- 308 sedan. The sedan variant of the current gen 308 hatch on sale in Europe.

- To be launched first in China in 2012. Has not been launched anywhere else in the world.

- Engines available in China to be 1.6, 2.0 plus a 1.6 Turbo to be launched at at a later stage.

- The European 308 hatch has a 90 bhp 1.6 diesel, a 110 bhp 1.6 diesel and a 136 bhp 2.0 diesel.

- 308 sedan is not to be confused with the 408 sedan. Common perception is 408 sedan is based on the 308 hatch, because of similar looks. 408 sedan is a segment higher.

- 308 sedan is also not to be confused with the 307 hatch based sedan.

- Would recommend reading this article : Linky. It tries to clear Peugeot's number confusion.

Pic Courtesy: Link1, Link2

Thanks for the info mate. The 308 looks good too. Should make an ideal car to compete with the City and Verna I guess. I think this model will definitely be on the list for India.

Originally Posted by Gooney

Hey thats one Aston Martin-ish compact car from Peugeot. Priced under 8 lacs and it could well be a game changer in the Indian auto market. Anyway, i do not think product offering will be an issue for Peugeot, provided they choose the right one for India. I believe they have ample time to spread their A. S. S network in India, and that is what they should focus on. If done properly, they could be will ahead of Renault-Nissan and FIAT, even if they choose fall-2013 for their first product (re)launch in India.

Ambitious thinking there. Peugeot have to build a sales and distribution network from scratch. It will take them two years time at least to get 50-100 dealerships up and running. Competing with others might be difficult than what you have mentioned.

[volkman10]

"French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen will set up 4,000-crore facility at in Gujarat, an emerging auto hub in the country after Gurgaon, Pune and Chennai. A senior official in the Chief Minister's Office said the multinational zeroed in on Gujarat after exploring locations in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
A Peugeot delegation, including Gregoire Olivier, CEO (Asian operations) and Frederic Fabre, managing director of PSA Peugeot (India project), will be coming to Ahmedabad on Thursday to sign a memorandum of understanding for the car project. Now, the company plans to manufacture a mid-sized sedan in Gujarat with a 3 lakh cars per annum capacity. "

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/auto/automobiles/psa-peugeot-citroen-to-set-up-rs-4000-cr-facility-in-gujarat/articleshow/9804116.cms

[shankar.balan]

another top down entry strategy methinks!
good that they are coming in
hope they address the middle of the market with some nice vehicles instead of trying so hard to hit the premium end first like most others do.
Citroen's legendary suspension and Peugeot's excellent reliability makes for a lovely combi - let them not waste the opportunity here in India.
If they come up with a strong mass market middle order offering and handle their after sales properly, they can wean the consumers away from the current "Its Maruti, Hyundai or bust" philosophy!

[xingamazon]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

another top down entry strategy methinks!
good that they are coming in
hope they address the middle of the market with some nice vehicles instead of trying so hard to hit the premium end first like most others do.
Citroen's legendary suspension and Peugeot's excellent reliability makes for a lovely combi - let them not waste the opportunity here in India.
If they come up with a strong mass market middle order offering and handle their after sales properly, they can wean the consumers away from the current "Its Maruti, Hyundai or bust" philosophy!

There is a reason why everyone comes top down rather than in the middle.
Its because the sales figures for the top models are less and it justifies having lesser number of dealers.
If someone has to have a entry level hatch or middle level hatch then first expectation would be there should be lots of service centers to cater to the market. But dealers / service dudes will not set shops until they see good number of sales. Its a vicious circle, you get more dealer when you are more popular, likewise you get more popular when you get more dealers.

Ask Nissan how they feel when they try to see Micras in India, Micra is such a good car only thing stopping someone from buying Micra is the thin server support...

[avishar]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

There is a reason why everyone comes top down rather than in the middle.
Its because the sales figures for the top models are less and it justifies having lesser number of dealers.
If someone has to have a entry level hatch or middle level hatch then first expectation would be there should be lots of service centers to cater to the market. But dealers / service dudes will not set shops until they see good number of sales. Its a vicious circle, you get more dealer when you are more popular, likewise you get more popular when you get more dealers.

Another advantage of a top-down strategy for car makers is that,if their premium cars find acceptance among consumers,they are able to build a strong brand image.If their expensive cars are accepted by the consumer,that means the consumer associates that brand with high end technology,build quality,snob value and reliability,which rubs off onto their lower offerings.VW is recent times have followed the top down strategy to the T and has been very successful.But to really take advantage of that strategy you have to scale up your operations perfectly in sync with the demand.Not too flood your cars early on,so as to dilute the brand image,but also ramp up capacity and dealer network later on.

For a bottom-up car maker breaking into the premium segment becomes difficult later on,eg Maruti.

[shankar.balan]

good one xingy
thanks for the insight. it simply didnt strike me as a reason until now.

Originally Posted by xingamazon

There is a reason why everyone comes top down rather than in the middle.
Its because the sales figures for the top models are less and it justifies having lesser number of dealers.
Ask Nissan how they feel when they try to see Micras in India, Micra is such a good car only thing stopping someone from buying Micra is the thin server support...

[SankalpDesai]

Bravo Gujarat.

You are showing the country how growth is done. For a state that is so-so in natural resources, this is no less than an excellent testimony of its brilliant administration and industry friendly government policies.

A very good decision taken by Peugeot management too. May we all buy Peugeot vehicles and prove this venture a success.

Can't wait to see Peugeot cars being test-driven and ownership experiences flooding Team-BHP.

I love you Gujarat.

[ghodlur]

Good to hear that Peugot is making a comeback and this time on its own. the last venture with PAL was no less of a disaster. Hope to see the 207 and 508 and also the Citreon models on the Indian roads soon.

Gujarat is garnering most of the auto sector investments, good for them. To justify such a huge investment after such a long time Puegot must guage the pulse of Indian customers and launch the models judiciously. All the best to them.

[Games Goblin]

So the Lion Roars once more

Glad to hear that Peugeot are going to set up shop in our country!

[cingsman]

Originally Posted by SankalpDesai

Bravo Gujarat.
May we all buy Peugeot vehicles and prove this venture a success.

So you mean to say, you are going to snob and burn the other 4 manufacturers - Suzuki, GM, Ford, Tata Motors - especially Tata Motors since they were the ones who started it all? !!

[vineet@bulbule]

I just found this on the Peugeot's official website under the Press Release:

Peugeot continues its global expansion and announces its new industrial facility in India

Its official: They are setting up the Rs. 4000 crore manufacturing unit not in Tamil Nadu, but in Gujrat.

[rohanjf]

Doesn't it make more sense for them to open a factory on the west coast? They can reduce the cost of importing the individual components (using ships) from Europe (especially France). Among the states on the west, Gujarat is most welcoming and is swift in allocating resources.
Same logic applies to Asian manufacturers located in TN.

Well, it may not be the only reason, but definitely an important one.

[xingamazon]

On hind sight, I was thinking the last time when Peugeot was leaving India. There were lots of litigations pending on its head. But since they had wrapped up all the business there was no way the litigations would stand. Is that correct.

So now that they are reentering India again, arent there chances that those affected by 309 would come and put case on Peugeot again? How are they planning to face that?

[Sn1p3r]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

On hind sight, I was thinking the last time when Peugeot was leaving India. There were lots of litigations pending on its head. But since they had wrapped up all the business there was no way the litigations would stand. Is that correct.

So now that they are reentering India again, arent there chances that those affected by 309 would come and put case on Peugeot again? How are they planning to face that?

I am a aggrieved party, we will re-file the complaint for sure.