PSA Group sees rasied revenues in the first quarter of 2015, even though

• Group revenues up 4.6% to €13.7 billion.
• Automotive Division revenues slightly up, to €9.0 billion.
• New car revenues including China up 5.5% ^[1].
• The Group is ahead of schedule with its "Back in the Race" recovery plan and is benefiting from a favourable economic environment.

In the first quarter of 2015, consolidated Revenues totalled €13,674 million, a 4.6% rise over the prior-year period. Automotive Division revenues, excluding the contribution of the Chinese joint ventures, amounted to €8,950 million for the period, representing a slight increase on first-quarter 2014. 

Revenues from new vehicles are up 1.1%, thanks to positive impact of product mix and price and currency effects (primarily relating to the British pound), offsetting a decline in volumes.

Pro forma Automotive Division revenues¹ including our share of the Chinese joint ventures rose 3.3% to €10,217 million, reflecting the strong increase in revenues from China.

In the first quarter of 2015, unit sales of assembled vehicles were sharply higher in Asia, Middle East-Africa and India-Pacific, and slightly lower in Europe. Sales were also down in Latin America and Eurasia, where rightsizing measures on fixed costs are in progress.

In Europe, vehicle sales inched back 1%, whereas new car registrations grew by 4% over the period. In light of the increase in demand, PSA Peugeot Citroën announced that it would be increasing output over the next four months while at the same time pursuing its strategy to improve the pricing power of its three brands, Peugeot Citroën and DS.

In Asia, the Group achieved unit sales up by 9%, led by growth in the Chinese market.

In Latin America and Eurasia, sales are down 35% and 86% respectively, on markets also declining significantly by 12% and 36%. Sales are managed to reach breakeven within 2017 ^[2], with actions to significantly lower the breakeven point, thus preserving the rebound capacity of the Group.

In the Middle East-Africa and India-Pacific regions, the Group's sales are up 19% and 32% respectively, with a particularly good performance in Turkey, up 47%.

At 31 March 2015, total vehicle inventory, including independent dealers, stood at 370,000 units, down 54,000 from a year earlier.

Faurecia's revenues amounted to €5,140 million, up 13.8% on the prior-year period.

Banque PSA Finance's revenues, accounted for on a 100% basis, rose 1.4% over the period, to €424 million^[3].

Commenting on the publication of the first-quarter revenues figures, Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon, said: "We are speeding up the implementation of our "Back in the Race" recovery plan. We remain focused on carrying our targeted measures through to completion, irrespectively of the tailwinds we've enjoyed so far this year."

Outlook

In 2015, PSA Peugeot Citroën expects to see automotive demand increase by 4% in Europe and by about 7% in China, but decline by some 10% in Latin America and around 30% in Russia.

The Group aims to generate operating free cash flow of around €2 billion over the period 2015-2017. It is also targeting an operating margin^[4] of 2% in 2018 for the Automotive Division, with the objective of reaching 5% over the period of the next medium-term plan, covering 2019-2023.

Financial calendar

• 29 July 2015: First-Half 2015 Results

Appendix

Worldwide Automobile Sales – First Quarter (cars and light commercial vehicles)

Estimated figures

Assembled vehicles, exc. CKD units

Europe = EU + EFTA + Albania + Bosnia + Croatia + Kosovo + Macedonia + Montenegro + Serbia

FIRST-QUARTER 2015 HIGHLIGHTS

• 29 January 2015: the first worldwide employee share issue is a resounding success.
• 2 February 2015: the first local partnerships between BPF and Santander begin operations in France and the United Kingdom.
• 6 February 2015: Banque PSA Finance adapts and improves the terms of its financial security.
• 23 February 2015:production of a new vehicle is attributed to the Poissy plant, supported by a €150 million capital expenditure programme.
• 17 March 2015: Capital Day.
• 30 March 2015: the 2014 Registration Document is published.

[1] Pro forma revenues including the contribution (50%) of Chinese joint ventures DPCA and CAPSA.

[2] Recurring operating income.

[3] On an IFRS basis, Banque PSA Finance's revenues totalled €154 million in first-quarter 2015, reflecting the application of IFRS 5 and the deconsolidation of the UK and France joint ventures.

[4] Recurring operating income as a percentage of revenues for the Automotive Division.

GENEVA - World Car Of The Year nominees whittled down to the top three in each segment.

The Road to the World Car journey continues with today’s announcement of the Top Three in the World finalists in five award categories at the Geneva International Motor Show.

This announcement continues the countdown for the 2015 World Car Awards (the WCAs) winners’ press conference hosted by the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum on Thursday, April 2, 2015.   Winners of the 2015 World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year will all be declared at this time.

A jury of 75 distinguished international automotive journalists selected the following “Top Three in the World” finalists by secret ballot based on their experience with each candidate as part of their professional work. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulated the jurors’ ballots.      

The Top Three in the World finalists in the 5 award categories are as follows:

2015 World Car of the Year:

Ford Mustang

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Volkswagen Passat 

2015 World Luxury Car:

BMW i8

Mercedes-Benz S Coupe

Range Rover Autobiography Black LWB

2015 World Performance Car:

BMW M4 Coupe/M3 Sedan

Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT

2015 World Green Car:

BMW i8

Mercedes-Benz S 500 Plug-In Hybrid

Volkswagen Golf GTE

2015 World Car Design of the Year:

Citroën C4 Cactus

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Volvo XC90

The Road to the World Car began in Paris on October 2, followed by a stop in Los Angeles for a test-drive of the North American contenders in November, and continues with the finalists’ announcement today at the Geneva International Auto Show.   The journey ends at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 2^nd, 2015 when all winners are declared.

The Global Trends Report, co-presented by Prime Research and Autoneum, will be revealed just before the winners’ press conference on the same day in New York. Autoneum CEO Martin Hirzel said, “Smart efficiency is the most important trend in the automobile industry. With Autoneum’s lightweight and multifunctional products for acoustic and heat management in vehicles, our smart innovations are making an important contribution to the future of the automobile.”

MPG Marathon is won by Honda's Civic Tourer with an impressive 97.92mpg.

Honda engineers Fergal McGrath and James Warren, driving a Honda Civic Tourer, have won this year’s MPG Marathon eco-driving challenge in a nail-biting finish with last year’s champions, Nick Chapman and Rosemary Homer.

Over the two days of the event, which was again sponsored by ALD Automotive and TRACKER, the Honda pair expertly guided a Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC around the specially designated 330-mile route, recording an outstanding 97.92mpg.

However, it was a very close run thing following a determined and sustained challenge from reigning champions, Chapman and Homer, both employees of Leicestershire County Council, who, until last year’s event, had never even met before.

Again driving a 1.6 litre TDCi Ford Fiesta Titanium ECOnetic, the Leicester pair achieved an average of 97.08mpg, just fractions of a mile per gallon behind the eventual winners.

“Having won last year’s event at their first attempt, Nick and Rosemary so nearly became only our second pair of drivers to win the event for two years in a row,” said event organiser and Fleet World managing editor, Ross Durkin.

“Commiserations to them, but all credit to Fergal and James. Their performance in recording an average of 97.92mpg over the two days was quite exceptional given the challenging driving conditions that all the contestants faced.

“It is testimony to their expert eco-driving skills that they have emerged triumphant against a very strong field of competitors, including nine former champions, and shows what can be achieved with the current generation of eco-friendly models available on the market today.”

In third place overall were John Kendall and Paul Nieuwenhuis, who achieved a very creditable 95.00mpg in Citroen’s new C4 Cactus crossover. The pair drove the low-emission BlueHdi 100 Feel model which emits just 82g/km of CO₂.

Alongside the competition for the best outright MPG, the Marathon also challenged drivers to improve on the manufacturers’ official fuel consumption figures for their vehicle.

And claiming first place in this category were Marathon new-comers and current Ford motor racing stars, Louise Richardson, and her co-driver, Harrison Scott.

Louise 21, star of the family-run Richardson Racing team, is the first female racer of an EcoBoost Formula Ford car, while 18-year old Falcon Motorsport driver Harrison is current leader of the 2014 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship.

The pair were driving a powerful new Ford Fiesta ST-3 1.6 litre 182ps EcoBoost model with an official combined fuel consumption of 47.9mpg. But the racing stars blew that figure completely out of the water, achieving an astonishing 75.77mpg, over 58% better than the official figures.

“It was an outstanding achievement from Louise and Harrison in their first MPG Marathon and showed what can be done in terms of driving frugally, even in today’s modern, high-powered super-minis,” said Ross Durkin, who was presiding over the 14^th MPG Marathon to date.

 “They had to curb their natural racing instincts in trying to use as little fuel as possible over the two-day event and did so brilliantly,” he said.

In second place in the percentage improvement category was the pair of Richard Aucock and Katie Beck. Driving an all-wheel drive Subaru BRZ Sports Coupe 2.0i SE Lux with a combined fuel consumption of 36.20mpg, their performance of 55.42mpg was 53% better than the official figures.

Claiming third spot in this category were former rally star, Andy Dawson, and long time co-driver and motorsports journalist, Andrew Marriott, the 2012 MPG Marathon champions.

Behind the wheel of a new high-powered Ford Focus ST-3 2.0T 250PS with an official fuel consumption figure of 39.20mpg, the highly-experienced duo achieved 56.78mpg, some 44.84% better than the manufacturer’s own figures.

Other notable achievements this year included that from British Touring Car Championship stars, Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, both members of the 2014 Honda Yuasa Racing Team, who were driving a Honda Civic 1.6 litre diesel Tourer.

Taking part in their first-ever MPG Marathon, their performance of 80.23mpg saw them finish in ninth place in the field of 26 teams of competitors.

In the light commercial vehicle category, there was a quite brilliant performance from Dan Gilkes, editor ofVan Fleet World, and co-driver, Ray Penford.

Behind the wheel of Renault’s all-new Trafic SL27 Energy dCi 120 Business, the pair achieved 55.55mpg, the best overall mpg and also the best percentage improvement, being 16% better than the manufacturer’s official figures of 47.90mpg.

Day one saw the contestants start from the luxurious Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel, at South Cerney near Cirencester, and head for the Brecon Beacons, with a lunch stop in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and an afternoon tea stop in Worcester.

On day two, they again set off from South Cerney, heading for Andover in Hampshire for a coffee stop and a lunch stop at the stately Bailbrook House Hotel in Bath.

In all, the course comprised a combined total of approximately 330 miles, although contestants were free to plan their own routes, provided they included a number of pre-agreed, fixed points, which made keen navigational skills essential.

All participating vehicles were again fitted with TRACKER tracking equipment so that event organisers knew exactly where each car was and how far it had travelled.

“Congratulations to all the contestants in this year’s MPG Marathon. There were some outstanding team and individual performances, some near misses and some great results.

“Above all else, this year’s event showed conclusively that the current generation of modern cars and vans are more fuel-efficient and more environmentally friendly than ever before, and are an outstanding testimony to the achievements of all the participating motor manufacturers,” concluded Ross Durkin.