“Since day one of Stellantis, we analyzed the situation together with our partners and we are now finalizing our plans for China, which we consider as a strategic market in terms of untapped potential,” Olivier said.
The DPCA joint venture, which is based in Wuhan, builds Peugeot and Citroen models for sale in China. Of the more than 100,000 vehicles sold last year, around 9,300 were new energy vehicles, Stellantis said.
But the unit continues to operate well below production capacity. Dongfeng-PSA’s deliveries hit a record high of 704,000 in 2015.
Earlier Stellantis said it was planning to increase to 75 percent from 50 percent a stake in its second Chinese joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group, which produces Jeep vehicles.
However, Guangzhou Automobile Group rebuked Stellantis for announcing plans to increase a stake in the joint venture without the Chinese automaker’s approval.
Jeep has struggled in China with sales falling four consecutive years. Deliveries slumped 50 percent to 20,123 last year.
Stellantis said additional details on a plan for the Chinese market will be announced during the presentation of a global strategy on March 1.
Reuters contributed to this report.
