PSA Peugeot Citroen Global Sales Up 4.3% in 2014; China Sales +32%

By Jason Chow

PARIS--PSA Peugeot Citroen's (UG.FR) global sales rose 4.3% last year as a recovery in Europe and strong demand in China boosted the beleaguered firm.

PSA, which begun an ambitious turnaround plan last year that focused on emerging markets and its new luxury brand DS, said that it sold more cars in China than in France. Sales in China grew 32% to 734,199, exceeding the 637,682 sold in France.

Last year, Chinese state-owned car manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Corp. took a minority stake and injected $1.1 billion in Peugeot when the company was in financial difficulty.

Despite a fragile recovery in the European market, Peugeot made strong gains there, selling 8.1% more cars on the continent in 2014 than in 2013 for a total of 1.8 million.

Sales of the DS brand--a new luxury line--totaled 122,694, 70% of which was sold in Europe and 21% in China.

The company didn't make any projections for 2015, but was upbeat in its statement. "This situation allows us to look towards 2015 with confidence," said Maxime Picat, chief executive of the Peugeot brand.

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