French automaker PSA has formed a new business unit dedicated for electric vehicles (EV), effective from 1 April, the company announced in a press release on 5 April. The new unit will be responsible for defining and deploying the Group’s EV strategy and rolling out the related products and services. The company has appointed Alexandre Guignard as senior vice president; he will head the new electromobility business unit and will report to Linda Jackson, CEO of Citroën.
“The energy transition is an opportunity that our company has seized by launching an unprecedented technological offensive made possible by our multi-energy platforms. The challenge for this Business Unit, which benefits from an experience built up over several years within the group, will be to provide the best vehicles at the best time to satisfy our customers and thereby ensure the best economic conditions for launching Groupe PSA’s electric vehicles into the market,” said Jackson.
Significance: PSA said that the two main priorities of the new business unit is to deliver profitable growth and contribute to Groupe PSA’s carbon dioxide reduction objectives. PSA is looking to significantly increase the number of EVs in its portfolio. The automaker is aiming to offer electric variant for its entire range by 2025, implementation of which is scheduled to start from 2019. To support its strategy for EV production, PSA is also increasing production capacity for related components. Last month, the company announced that it will produce electric motors at its Trémery plant in France from 2019. PSA also formed a joint venture with Japan-based Nidec Corporation to develop, produce and supply electric motors for electrified vehicles. Nidec will operate the JV through its French subsidiary Nidec Leroy-Somer Holding, the French electric motor company that the Japanese supplier acquired last year. PSA is also preparing to produce an all-electric variant of next-generation of the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa sub-compact car at its Zaragoza plant in Spain.
