Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




CAR TECH
Peugeot dynasty ends reign with Dongfeng tie-up
by Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) Feb 18, 2014


Dongfeng Motor: China's second biggest automaker
Beijing (AFP) Feb 18, 2014 - Here are some background facts about China's Dongfeng Motor, which is expected to take a stake in troubled French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen. The board of PSA was due to meet Tuesday to ratify the deal.

COMPANY BACKGROUND

State-owned Dongfeng Motor Corp. is the second-biggest automaker by sales in China, which has the world's largest car market. It has multiple alliances with foreign firms, including a business relationship with PSA dating back to 1992. The parent company has a subsidiary listed in Hong Kong, Dongfeng Motor Group.

HISTORY

Founded in 1969 at the height of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, Dongfeng -- which means "East Wind" in Chinese -- is based in the inland city of Wuhan, one of the locations chosen by the government as an industrial hub to protect key sectors from military attack.

SALES

Dongfeng sold 3.53 million vehicles in China in 2013, giving it a 16 percent market share and making it number two behind Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), according to Chinese industry figures. In January this year, Dongfeng's sales reached 335,700 vehicles.

ALLIANCES

Dongfeng's existing PSA joint venture employs around 15,000 workers in three factories in Wuhan. Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile sold 550,000 vehicles in 2013, up 25 percent from 2012.

The Chinese company is allied with another French firm, Renault, as well as Nissan and Honda of Japan, Korea's Kia, and Yulong -- a Taiwanese manufacturer.

PSA Peugeot Citroen agreed to a capital tie-up with China's Dongfeng and the French state on Tuesday, a source said, ending the reign of one of France's oldest industrial dynasties.

In the latest buy-in of a Chinese giant to a struggling Western firm, the source close to the deal said Peugeot's board approved an agreement for Dongfeng and the French government to each inject 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) for 14 percent stakes in the company.

The total fundraising effort could bring in at least 3 billion euros through the sales of additional shares.

Full details of the deal are to be released early on Wednesday along with Peugeot's 2013 results.

The Peugeot family -- which has controlled the firm since its founding in 1810 as a maker of coffee mills and bicycles -- will see its 25 percent stake and 38 percent voting rights diluted to the same amount as the stakes for the government and Chinese state-controlled Dongfeng.

The deal will come to Peugeot's rescue after the group, Europe's second-largest carmaker, suffered the indignity of needing 7 billion euros in state-guaranteed refinancing to rescue its credit arm.

Peugeot has been among the hardest hit by a European slump in car sales, suffering a 5 billion euro loss in 2012 and cutting thousands of jobs.

For China, where Dongfeng is the second-biggest automaker, the agreement marks the latest high-profile acquisition by the economic powerhouse of a Western company.

Last month, Chinese tech giant Lenovo bought Motorola from Google in $2.9 billion deal.

Under the Peugeot deal, the family will see its number of board seats reduced from four to two, with Thierry Peugeot expected to lose his post as chairman.

- Results due Wednesday -

None of the three main shareholders would be allowed to increase its stake for 10 years -- seen as an effort to limit Dongfeng's influence at Peugeot, which employs nearly 90,000 people in France.

The final deal is expected to be signed at the end of next month during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Paris.

The source said the Peugeot board also agreed a tie-up between its financing arm and Spanish bank Santander to begin at the end of 2016 when state-guaranteed funding expires.

It as well approved the appointment of former Renault executive Carlos Tavares as the new CEO to replace Philippe Varin, the man often blamed for guiding the company into its current turmoil, the source said.

Last year, a government-ordered enquiry found that Peugeot had made strategic mistakes for years by not seizing fully the opportunities of globalisation.

Peugeot is set to release its results for 2013 early on Wednesday, after it took a series of cost-cutting measures aimed at saving 1.5 billion euros, including closing its iconic Aulnay-sous-Bois factory near Paris.

The company is hoping the link with Dongfeng will give it a boost in China, which is now the group's number two market behind France and where it operates three joint factories.

State-owned Dongfeng Motor Corp., founded in 1969 and whose name means "East Wind", sold 3.53 million vehicles in China in 2013, giving it a 16 percent market share.

Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg said the state's decision to buy in to Peugeot was important to France's economic future.

"We have taken a decision of economic and industrial patriotism, with commitments taken by management," Montebourg said.

He said Peugeot had committed to producing a million vehicles a year in France by 2016 and investing 1.5 billion euros in French factories.

- 'It saves our bacon' -

At Peugeot's historic Sochaux plant in the eastern Franche-Comte region, workers welcomed the reorganisation but expressed fears the deal would eventually see their jobs relocated to China.

"In the workshops people are saying we are going to be gobbled up by the Chinese," said Christian, 57, one of the factory's 11,500 workers.

"But we don't have any choice, all of the automakers are relying on foreign groups. If it saves our bacon, that's a good thing."

The Peugeot family jumped into car manufacturing in 1889 and, though no longer directly managing Peugeot, continued to play a key role on its board even after the 1976 takeover of Citroen.

Trading in Dongfeng shares was suspended in Hong Kong on Tuesday, while Peugeot shares were down 1.64 percent at 12.58 euros in mid-afternoon trading in Paris.

.


Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





CAR TECH
Renault reports profit plunge, radar on China, shares rise
Paris (AFP) Feb 13, 2014
French automaker Renault reported Thursday a two-thirds net profit plunge for 2013, blaming an embargo block on operations in Iran and restructuring charges. The group said that it would focus on developing activities in China and would not make a production foray into the US market. The Japanese subsidiary Nissan made a net contribution to the results of 1.4 billion euros. Renault, ... read more


CAR TECH
Source of 'Moon Curse' Revealed by Eclipse

NASA bets on private companies to exploit moon's resources

Astrobotic Begins Testing at Masten Space Systems

NASA Extends Moon Exploring Satellite Mission

CAR TECH
'Pinnacle Island' Rock Studies Continue

Calculated Risks: How Radiation Rules Mars Exploration

ASU Mars camera to get new views of Red Planet

NASA Moves Longest-Serving Mars Spacecraft for New Observations

CAR TECH
ORBITEC Supports NASA Kennedys Advanced Plant Habitat for ISS

Hollande on Silicon Valley charm offensive

Is it time to lift alcohol ban in space?

Google wins contract to take over historic NASA-owned airfield

CAR TECH
China's Jade Rabbit rover comes 'back to life'

Yutu Awakes

Moon plays trick on Jade Rabbit

Waiting for Yutu

CAR TECH
Andrews Space Cargo Module Power Unit Provides Power For Payloads Bound For ISS

Russian Progress M-22M docks with ISS following fast rendezvous

Russian Resupply Spacecraft Begins Expedited Flight to Station

NASA Selects Physical Science Research Proposals for the ISS

CAR TECH
Russia-Kazakhstan Working Group to Report on Proton Launches

Turkey launches satellite to increase Internet speed

Russian Telecoms Satellites Readied for March Launch

Ariane 5's heavy-lift mission is an on the numbers launch success

CAR TECH
Kepler Finds a Very Wobbly Planet

One planet, two stars: new research shows how circumbinary planets form

First Weather Map of Brown Dwarf

NASA-Sponsored 'Disk Detective' Lets Public Search for New Planetary Nurseries

CAR TECH
Theorists predict new forms of exotic insulating materials

Scientists use 'voting' and 'penalties' to overcome quantum errors

From Stone Age to Space Age: bone pigment helps probe

Diagnosis just a breath away with new laser




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.