After being dumped by DaimlerChrysler, thereby having ties with smart and Chrysler Group itself severed, Mitsubishi Motors has been on the lookout for a new partner to help its return to profitability and growth. It has looked and found a new and willing partner from France, PSA Peugeot-Citroen group. Currently, PSA sells rebodied versions of the Outlander (Peugeot 4007, Citroen C-Crosser), enabling the French company to produce and sell its first SUV in exchange for supplying Mitsubishi with turbodiesel engines to power its products. It has been suggested by American auto magazine Motor Trend that there’s much more in store for this partnership.
Peugeot now wants to expand its operations in South America by selling the next generation of its staple sedan, the 408, however due to the associated costs of transportation and tariffs in Western Europe this simply wouldn’t be possible, at least not from a profitability standpoint. Instead, the cars could be built at Mitsubishi’s underutilized Normal, Illinois plant for much less than Europe. Currently, Mitsubishi assembles all variants of its “Project America” vehicles there, including the Galant, Eclipse and Endeavor, therefore adding the 408 would reduce costs by improving the plant’s productivity.
What really piqued our interest in the Motor Trend article is a comment that if Peugeot were to build a car in the United States, there’s a good possibility that it would be sold here in North America as well. Though Peugeot has thrived in Europe and other areas of the world, it hasn’t yet returned to the United States or Canada after closing shop in 1990, though it has been interested in returning since the earlier part of this decade. This partnership could also have some rather useful benefits for Mitsubishi. Should the Japanese brand team up with Peugeot, it could team up with the French to develop a new midsize, or even rebadged the 408 as its own product, saving the brand big bucks.
Peugeot’s main strengths are producing powerplants and compact cars. PSA struck a partnership with Ford and its PAG division to develop advanced new diesel engines, such as those fitted to Jaguars and Land Rovers, plus has also teamed up with BMW to develop the new 1.6-litre naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines featured in the new MINI.
Of course there are challenges that Peugeot must overcome if it were to relaunch into the North American markets, such as brand familiarity. Peugeot, like Alfa Romeo or Citroen was never a large player in the North American market, so getting going on our shores would be a massive undertaking, especially the task of establishing a dealer network (though this could potentially be paired with Mitsubishi). Furthermore, French vehicles aren’t exactly known for their reliability, although Peugeot has recently made effort to improve its standings. Teaming up with Mitsubishi could further help abate reliability issues.