RUEIL-MALMAISON, France — PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares said on Friday that the automaker and its future merger partner Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will need to review their strategy in China in order to boost sales after the tie-up.
PSA and FCA are hoping to finalize a $50 billion merger in early 2021 that would create the fourth-biggest automaker in the world.
“We are in China to stay, we need to find a formula in order to succeed,” Tavares said.
Sales of PSA vehicles in China dropped by 55 percent to 117,084 units in 2019 due to fierce competition from local rivals. Its production site in the country is tailored to produce 1 million cars per year.
FCA has a co-enterprise with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) in China, which has a 0.35 percent market share for passenger cars.
FCA sales in China were down to 90,000 in 2019 from 163,000 in 2018, according to its annual report.