PSA Peugeot Citroën steps up new energy pace in China
- Source: Global Times
- [01:59 December 21 2009]
- Comments
PSA Executive Vice President Claude Vajsman
France-based PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second-largest carmaker in Europe, has announced it plans to halve carbon dioxide emissions from its automobiles sold in China by 2020, to meet Chinese consumer demand, as well as to protect the environment, according to PSA's top management official Claude Vajsman.
As PSA's first new energy strategy in China, the announcement was made by Claude Vajsman, executive vice president of PSA Peugeot Citroën and China's chief operation officer, at a summit in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on December 12, against the backdrop of the Copenhagen climate summit and the expectation that China will soon release regulations on the development of new energy vehicles.
"PSA will cut the carbon dioxide emissions of its automobiles sold in China by 50 percent by 2020, to the level planned for this date in Europe, the benchmark region, and we will realize this goal with our international experiences, as well as our strong research and development (R&D) team in China," said Vajsman.
PSA has focused on the R&D of new energy vehicles for years, which could both benefit the consumers and the environment. "Consumers' demand is always at the top of our consideration, and we will focus on Chinese consumers' demand in our R&D process, through frequent surveys and communications with them," Vajsman added.
In Vajsman's perspective, the future trends in the automobile industry would depend largely on the Chinese market and consumers. "That was what prompted us to set up such an important R&D facility in Shanghai," he said.
PSA has been the first international automaker to have a wholly-owned R&D center in China, which was set up in Shanghai with an initial investment of 1 billion yuan ($146.4 million), and the facility commenced operations in September 2008.
