The French Government opposes PSA Chiefs pay package, even though he helped turn the company around.

French government representatives on PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's board oppose the sharp increase in remuneration of the automaker's CEO Carlos Tavares, a French newspaper reported.

Tavares saw his total remuneration reach 5.24 million euros ($5.9 million) for 2015, including his fixed and variable salary and long-term incentives, up from 2.75 million euros in 2014, according to the company's annual report.

The French government, which owns 14 percent of the carmaker, has recommended that companies in which it holds a minority stake should cut the leader's remuneration by 30 percent, Les Echos reported on its website on Monday.

PSA returned to profitability in 2015 after four years of losses and achieved its performance targets ahead of time.

PSA and the French finance ministry declined to comment on the Les Echos report, which did not cite sources.

PSA is due to present a new strategic plan on April 5.

REPORT HERE

Teams at Française de Mécanique assembled the site's 300,000th Turbo PureTech 3-cylinder engine.

Française de Mécanique produces its 300,000th unit assembled so far of Turbo PureTech three-cylinder petrol engine, "Engine of the Year" in 2015

Teams at Française de Mécanique assembled the site's 300,000th Turbo PureTech three-cylinder petrol engine on 19 March.

The engine is fitted on the Peugeot 208, 308, 2008 and 3008, the Citroën C3, C4, C4 Cactus and C4 Picasso, and the DS 3 and DS 4. It cuts fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by an average 18% compared with the naturally aspirated EP engine, already the market's top performer. The smaller, lighter Turbo PureTech petrol engine offers a remarkable level of driving pleasure and performance for a model in its cylinder class.

In June 2015, it was named Engine of the Year in the 1l to 1.4l category at the International Engine of the Year Awards. The accolade recognises both the technology and the performance of this market-leading powerplant.

Production of the Turbo PureTech engine began in March 2014 at the Française de Mécanique plant and a total of 6,450 units are now manufactured weekly by four teams.

Commenting, Denis Martin, Operational Director Europe, said: "Our PureTech petrol engine is a key factor in the success of the models it is fitted on. Given current trends in the petrol/diesel model mix, the performance of this excellent three­cylinder engine gives PSA a competitive edge that our front-line teams can leverage to win market share."

PSA announces annual income, turnover, profits and sales as it completes its restructuring.

• 5% recurring operating margin from the Automotive division in 2015
• €3.8 billion operational free cash flow generated in 2015, totaling €6 billion in two years
• All targets exceeded: PSA has completed its reconstruction plan ahead of schedule
• The Group will unveil its strategic plan for profitable growth on 5 April 2016

"We have completed our plan in record time thanks to the involvement of the entire company and its stakeholders," said Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Managing Board. "I am delighted with this collective success. It puts our company back in the race and proves its potential. In an unsettled international environment, agility and operational excellence are key to success. We will be able to harness this strength when implementing our new plan for profitable growth."

The Group's pro forma revenue^[1] for 2015 was €56,328 million, compared with €53,301 million in 2014. After reclassification of Faurecia's Automotive Exteriors business, net revenue was up 6%, to €54,676 million.

The Automotive division's revenue showed a similar improvement on 2014, rising 4% to €37,514 million. The main growth drivers were an increase in net prices, positive product mix and volume effects, as well as a favourable currency impact.

Group Recurring Operating Income tripled to €2,733 million in 2015, from €797 million in 2014. Growth was driven mainly by the Automotive division, which posted a €1,808 million increase on the back of a positive product mix, which reflected the success of a young vehicle range, and further cost-cutting initiatives in the second half of 2015. More than one-third of the improvement was due to a favourable operating environment. 

The Automotive division's pro forma Recurring Operating Income, which includes 50% of the results of the Chinese joint ventures, was up €1,882 million to €2,248 million.

The Group's non-recurring expense of €757 million in 2015 was primarily due to restructuring costs incurred by the Automotive division.

The Group's financial expense stood at €642 million compared with €755 million in 2014.

The Group's net profit for the period totalled €1,202 million, up €1,757 million on 2014.

Banque PSA Finance reported Recurring Operating Income of €514 million^[2], a rise of €177 million on 2014. The Group's strategic partnership with Santander Consumer Finance allows it to benefit from some of the most competitive refinancing conditions on the market. 

Faurecia's Recurring Operating Income amounted to €830 million, a year-on-year increase of €235 million.

Free cash flow of manufacturing and sales companies totaled €3,658 million, due to an improvement in funds from operations, a €942 million increase in the working capital requirement, and dividends from Chinese joint ventures with Dongfeng, and from Banque PSA Finance.

Excluding restructuring expenses and non-recurring items, operational free cash flow for the period stood at €3,803 million.

Total inventory, including independent dealers, stood at 350,000 vehicles at 31 December 2015, up 11,000 units from end-2014.

The manufacturing and sales companies' net financial position at 31 December 2015 was a positive €4,560 million, up €4,012 million on 31 December 2014.

Market outlook

For 2016, the Group expects the automotive market to grow by about 2% in Europe and 5% in China, and to shrink by around 10% in Latin America and 15% in Russia.

The Group exceeded its operational targets

With €3.8 billion in operational free cash flow generated in 2015, the Group has exceeded its target of €2 billion for the 2015-2017 period.

The objective was to reach an operating margin^[3] of 2% for the Automotive division in 2018, targeting 5% within the timing of the next mid-term plan 2019-2023. That target was also exceeded ahead of schedule, with the Automotive division reporting a 5% operating margin as of 2015.

PSA Peugeot Citroën will present its plan for profitable growth on 5 April 2016.

As 2015 is the final year of the rebuilding of the Group's financial fundamentals, no proposal will be made to pay a dividend for the 2015 financial year. A dividend policy in line with sector practices will be proposed as from the 2016 financial year.

PSA continues it's push back into Iran with a €400 Million investment to produce new models.

During President Hassan Rouhani's state visit to Paris, PSA Peugeot Citroën, which has operated in Iran for more than 30 years, and Iran Khodro signed a joint venture agreement to produce latest-generation vehicles in Iran.

This 50/50 joint venture lays the foundations for a strategic partnership between the two companies. This joint venture is expected to invest up to €400 million over the next five years in manufacturing and R&D capacity. This investment will contribute to facilitating the development of a competitive manufacturing base for producing, launching and marketing Peugeot 208, 2008 and 301 models, fitted with latest-generation engines.

The agreement provides for:

• The restoration of contractual relations concerning the manufacture of Peugeot-branded vehicles currently produced in Iran
• The creation of a joint venture on an industrial site in Tehran to produce new latest-generation Peugeot vehicles on a platform that will also be used by Iran Khodro to develop its own vehicles
• The capacity to export JV products across the region

Coming one week after international sanctions were lifted, this agreement marks the beginning of a new chapter for both partners. The agreement, which will be backed up by technology transfers and significant levels of local content, will come into effect once it is implemented, i.e., around mid-2016.

The first vehicles will roll off the production line at the Tehran plant in the second half of 2017.

The Iranian market reached a peak of 1.6 million vehicles in 2011. It should regain this level within 2 years to reach 2 million vehicles a year by 2022. Current estimates put the number of Peugeot cars on the road in Iran at more than 4 million.

Iran is a key component of PSA development strategy in the Middle East & Africa region, which is PSA Peugeot Citroën's third-fastest growing international market. The Group sold 180,200 vehicles in the region in 2015, up 6.4%.

In turn, Iran Khodro plan to capitalize on the technology transfer.

Commenting on this new agreement, Carlos Tavares, Chairman of PSA Peugeot Citroën's Managing Board, said: “This strategic agreement turns the page on the period of international sanctions and enables PSA and Iran Khodro to start a new chapter in their 30-year history of co-operation. Our shared ambition is to offer our loyal customers high-tech products to deliver mobility that meets the highest comfort, safety and environmental standards.”

Dr: Hashem Yekehzare, President and CEO of IKCO states: “The strategic partnership with PSA will serve as a unique platform, for both parties to capitalize on each other’s competitive advantages; especially given the scale, technology and long term outlook that the parties are able to bring to their co-operation. A particular benefit of this partnership is to bring cost effective and the best automotive technology to the customers.”

PSA continues with it's commitment to strengthen ties with top post graduates and universities around the globe.

As part of its Open Innovation strategy and in line with its commitment to staying on the leading edge of automotive research, PSA Peugeot Citroën is strengthening its ties with top post-graduate schools and universities by creating an OpenLab in Africa.

On 25 January, PSA Peugeot Citroën entered into an agreement with five Moroccan universities, two US universities with campuses in Morocco, one locally-based Ecole Centrale engineering school, and a technology transfer centre at the International University of Rabat. 

The agreement was signed at a ceremony attended by Morocco's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the French Ambassador to Morocco.

The new OpenLab, dubbed "Sustainable Mobility for Africa", will engage in a four-year research programme to explore sustainable mobility systems with three core focuses: the electric vehicle of the future, renewable energy and the logistics of the future. The programme will leverage PSA Peugeot Citroën's scientific and professional expertise, the expertise of the partner universities and a number of technological platforms which will be made available to researchers in Morocco.

In this way, after deploying its Science Technologies Exploratory Lean Laboratory (StelLab) organisation in Europe, Asia and Latin America, PSA Peugeot Citroën is strengthening its network to nurture close relationships with future scientific hubs.

The OpenLab "Sustainable Mobility for Africa" programme brings together the following partners:

• International University of Rabat
• Mohammed V University
• Ibn Tofail University (Kenitra)
• Cadi Ayyad University (Marrakech)
• Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez (INSA EuroMediterranean)
• Georgia Institute of Technology (GeorgiaTech)
• Mississipoi State University
• Ecole Centrale Casablanca
• Institut Lafayette

Open Innovation at PSA Peugeot Citroën       

PSA Peugeot Citroën has adopted an Open Innovation strategy which entails building and managing relationships with a variety of ecosystems — from individuals and business to the academic world and institutions.

As part of its relationship with the academic ecosystem, the Group launched the StelLab network of OpenLabs and academic chairs in 2010.

StelLab is designed to strengthen PSA's scientific partnerships with publicly-funded laboratories involved in leading-edge research.

The OpenLab network operates worldwide to respond more effectively to the societal, environmental and economic challenges associated with the "car of the future", benefiting from the shared human and experimental resources of PSA Peugeot Citroën and its partner laboratories.

PSA issues a statement on the tests conducted by the Government on the possibility of emissions errors.

The results of the tests conducted by the technical committee led by French environment minister Ségolène Royal have now been communicated to us. These results attest to the absence of anomalies on PSA Peugeot Citroën vehicles.

The pictures below are for illustrative purposes only, and are not to be considered to be part of any investigation, or for the vehicles pictured to be considered as cars with possible "cheat devices", if you are unsure, then contact your local dealership, PSA has been shown to be cheat free.

The purpose of the tests, which were carried out by French testing laboratory UTAC, was to verify vehicle compliance with regard to pollutant emissions. The test results confirm the validity of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s choices in terms of pollutant emission treatment technology.

These initial results also confirm the effectiveness of the BlueHDi after-treatment system, which includes selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology positioned upstream of the particulate filter, to treat the nitrogen oxides (NOx) released by diesel engines. This technology has been deployed on all of the Group’s Euro6 vehicles since late 2013.

PSA Peugeot Citroën has not been the subject of a search by France’s General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF).

WORLDWIDE SALES 2015 - PSA shows growth to nearly 3 million units for the year, with all brands up.

• 2,973,000 vehicles sold, up 1.2%
• Sales growth in Europe, Middle East & Africa and India-Pacific
• Sales virtually stable in China over the year, with performance strengthening in the fourth quarter

In Europe, Group sales rose 5.9% over the year, to 1,864,000 units, with the pace of growth picking up in the fourth quarter.

Peugeot sales increased by 9.4% to 1,056,000 units, thanks in particular to the excellent performance of the Peugeot 308 (up 31%), supported by the solid results of the Peugeot 2008 (up 11% in its third consecutive year of growth) and the Peugeot 208 (up 10%). 

The 2008 and 308 were both in the top three of their respective segments in Europe. The most significant gains were made in the Netherlands (up 25% or 10,500 units), Spain (up 24% or 19,900 units), Italy (up 21% or 17,500 units) and France (up 7% or 23,900 units).

Citroën reported its highest volume of sales since 2012, with a faster 6% gain in the second half supporting full-year growth of 3% to 731,000 units. Registrations rose by 5% over the year as a whole (including a 7% increase in the second half). 

Citroën's sales volumes increased in major markets such as the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Germany, thanks to the success of both passenger cars — the C4 Cactus (82,000 units), the new C1 (60,000 units) and the C4 Picasso (113,000 units) — and commercial vehicles, such as the segment-leading new Berlingo.

With volumes up 20.7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, DS sold 76,500 units over the full year. Its momentum was led by new product launches, including the new DS 5 in June and the new DS 4 and DS 4 Crossback in the second half of the year, limited editions of the DS 3 and the expansion of the DS network, which now includes 17 DS Stores and 78 DS Salons in Europe.

In China and Southeast Asia, PSA Peugeot Citroën sales were virtually stable (down 0.9%) at 736,000 units.

In a Chinese market where global brands experienced moderate growth over the year, the Group saw its sales jump 8.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, and maintained its focus on margins.   

In China, Peugeot sales rose 6% to 408,000 units, placing Dongfeng Peugeot amongst the international brands with the strongest growth rate. This performance was underpinned by the success of the new Peugeot 408, sales of which increased by 68% in 2015 to more than 107,000 units. 

Another contributing factor was the implementation of innovative online platforms in cooperation with major Chinese e-commerce sites. Also worthy of note was the continued success of the Peugeot 3008 and the Peugeot 2008 in the SUV line-up, with over 110,000 vehicles sold during the year.

Citroen sold more than 300,000 vehicles in 2015, reflecting the fact that sales picked up by more than 10% in the fourth quarter. This trend was led by the success of the SUV C3-XR, launched at the beginning of the year and already ahead of target with 67,000 units sold, while the Citroën C-Elysée consolidated its status as Dongfeng Citroën's best-seller, with 90,000 units sold.  

The new C4 saloon introduced in October got off to an excellent start, with 8,000 units already sold. These performances drew on the excellence of the Donfeng Citroën dealer network, which was ranked first in the 2015 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Index for the quality of its customer service.

China currently represents 21% of the DS brand's worldwide sales, or 21,500 units. Attesting to the market's enthusiasm for French luxury, the brand reported a 46% increase in deliveries to Chinese customers.

The Middle East & Africa region represents the Group's third largest market, with unit sales up 6.4% to 180,200.

PSA Peugeot Citroën maintained its strong positions in a number of historical markets, ranking first in Tunisia and second in Algeria and Morocco.

Peugeot, which sold 117,000 units, advanced by 2.3% over the year. The brand strengthened its positions in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, the French overseas departments and Israel. Sales increased significantly in Turkey (up 40%), Israel (up 67%) and Mashreq (up 26%), thanks in particular to the results of the Peugeot 208, 301 and 308.

Citroën's sales rose 16.1% over the year to 61,500 units. The brand stepped up its positions in Algeria, Tunisia and Israel and saw a sharp increase in sales in Turkey (up 43%), Israel (up 79%) and Tunisia (up 29%), largely due to the success of the C-Elysée, Citroën's best-selling model in these countries.

DS pursued its expansion, most notably by announcing its entry into the Iranian market as well as the opening of DS Stores in Ankara and in Tunis — a first for the brand in Africa.

In Latin America and Eurasia, Group sales continued to be impacted by a highly challenging economic environment. In these regions, the Group remained focused on its margins and the local integration of its manufacturing operations.

Peugeot carried out several major launches in Latin America, introducing the Peugeot 2008 in Brazil over the course of the year and the new Peugeot 308 and 408 models in Argentina and Brazil in the last four months of 2015.

Peugeot sales surged 34% in Mexico, and increased 4% in Chile, in a market down 14%.

For its part, Citroën sold 56,600 units during the year and, in November, introduced the new C3 Aircross, a small crossover ideally suited to local market needs and manufactured at the Porto Real plant in Brazil.

In India-Pacific, the Group sold 23,800 units in 2015 thanks to strong contributions from the Peugeot 2008 and 308 models and the Citroën C4 Picasso. The 6.5% improvement was mainly driven by South Korea and Japan.

Maxime Picat, Chief Executive Officer, Peugeot brand said: "The brand's robust growth in 2015 — particularly in the fourth quarter, when its worldwide sales rose by 4.6% — shows that Peugeot has indeed made a comeback, led by efficient, dynamic and innovative products.This successful performance perfectly illustrates Peugeot's strategy and drive to become the best high-end volume carmaker."

Linda Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, Citroën brand said: "Despite the ongoing difficulties in Latin America and Eurasia, Citroën stayed on track in 2015, with combined worldwide sales of 1.2 million units. In addition to our European volumes, which are at their highest since 2012, we have made headway in Middle East & Africa and India-Pacific, and enjoyed a stronger fourth-quarter performance in China with 10% growth. 

This improvement is anchored in our recent launches, including the new C1, the C4 Cactus and the C3-XR in China. It also demonstrates the attractiveness of our new positioning, illustrated in particular by our Aircross and Cactus M concepts. "

Yves Bonnefont, Chief Executive Officer, DS brand said: "In a year that was both eventful and intense, we laid the groundwork for our long-term strategy, most notably with the worldwide launch of our new brand identity, the beginning of a process to renew our line-up and the opening of new DS Stores and DS Salons worldwide. 

Our entire range is now fitted with engines combining power and efficiency, the latest generation EAT6 automatic gearbox, and new connected services which are compatible with all types of smartphones. We are therefore moving forward confidently into 2016, with the aim of sustaining this momentum."