Data on global automaker PSA Group has been released in the French media with Iran outperforming all other regions in sales for the first quarter of 2017.
According to the latest figures, the carmaker sold 104,000 units in Iran in the first quarter of the year.
Numbers published in the French newspaper Les Echos show that Iranian car sales accounted for 86.5% of the company's sales in the Middle East and North Africa region. The daily said 120,161 vehicles were sold in the wider MENA region.
Moreover, sales in Iran now equate to one seventh (14.2%) of all PSA Group's profits in the first quarter of the year. Overall sales were up 4.2%, driven by Peugeot’s sales in Iran.
PSA Goals
Peugeot is planning on overhauling vehicles on offer in the saturated Iranian market over the next few years and get rid of the older gas-guzzlers, namely the Peugeot Pars and 405 models from local production.
Earlier this week the CEO of Iran Khodro (PSA's local partner) put the price tag for its Peugeot 2008 at 900 million to 1 billion rials ($24,000 to $26,600) depending on the options the consumer will choose.
The production line of Peugeot’s 2008 small crossover was launched in March marking the first new vehicle of a renewed partnership with the French carmaker. The line is set to produce more than 30,000 units in the fiscal year that began on March 21.
The car’s body is produced locally by one of the subsidiaries of IKCO, called TAM which meets the bare minimum 30% localization need, as mandated by the government for foreign firms wanting to manufacture vehicles in Iran.
China Slips
The sales in Iran have buoyed the PSA's fortunes with a downturn in the Chinese auto market denting profits. Sales in China fell from 152,700 to 83,000 vehicles. Peugeot lost 33.2% of market share y/y, Citroën and DS more than 60%.
The steep fall in sales in China now makes Iran the second largest market for the PSA Group following the removal of nuclear-related sanctions in January 2016.
Since then, French automakers have rushed to reclaim their position in the market after being pushed aside by the US and EU sanctions since 2012.
In 2017, PSA Group said it expects the car market to grow by around 1% in Europe and by 2% in Latin America. The market is expected to grow by 5% in China and remain stable in Russia.
The company also expects to maintain over 4.5% operating margin for the automotive division over the period 2016-2018 and a target of more than 6% in 2021
Overall for the group, the company aims at have a 10% increase in its turnover between 2015 and 2018, targeting 15% growth by 2021.
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