Due the way people change the way they use their cars, PSA Groupe introduces Free2Move to move this new way forward.In response to the major shifts taking place in society and the emergence of new collaborative ways of using transport, the PSA Group has united its mobility and smart services offering under a new brand, Free2Move. On Wednesday, 28 September at the PSA Group's Mobility Days event, Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board, announced the launch of the new brand Free2Move, which will develop sustainable, smart, safe and shared mobility solutions for everyone. Free2Move unites all of the PSA Group's new mobility solutions with the aim of satisfying the full spectrum of consumers' transport needs: Free2Move Car Sharing – car sharing services run by the Group Free2Move Smart Services – connected services to make life easier and save time Free2Move Fleet Sharing and Free2Move Fleet Management – corporate fleet services Free2Move Lease – financial solutions to make vehicles more affordable The brand will also incorporate the leasing and car sharing services run by Peugeot, Citroën and DS as well as those provided by the PSA Group's partners. The PSA Group will therefore continue to roll out its mobility solutions via its new brand, Free2Move. At the Free2Move launch, Grégoire Olivier, Executive Vice-President of Mobility services for PSA Group, said: "For the PSA Group, mobility means not only making and selling excellent cars, but also offering a full range of mobility solutions. The launch of this new brand will enable the PSA Group to achieve the objectives set out in our Push to Pass plan and be the leading mobility provider for our customers. Free2Move serves the freedom of movement to our customers."

In response to the major shifts taking place in society and the emergence of new collaborative ways of using transport, the PSA Group has united its mobility and smart services offering under a new brand, Free2Move.

On Wednesday, 28 September at the PSA Group's Mobility Days event, Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board, announced the launch of the new brand Free2Move, which will develop sustainable, smart, safe and shared mobility solutions for everyone.

Free2Move unites all of the PSA Group's new mobility solutions with the aim of satisfying the full spectrum of consumers' transport needs:

• Free2Move Car Sharing – car sharing services run by the Group 
• Free2Move Smart Services – connected services to make life easier and save time 
• Free2Move Fleet Sharing and Free2Move Fleet Management – corporate fleet services
• Free2Move Lease – financial solutions to make vehicles more affordable 

The brand will also incorporate the leasing and car sharing services run by Peugeot, Citroën and DS as well as those provided by the PSA Group's partners.

The PSA Group will therefore continue to roll out its mobility solutions via its new brand, Free2Move.

At the Free2Move launch, Grégoire Olivier, Executive Vice-President of Mobility services for PSA Group, said:

"For the PSA Group, mobility means not only making and selling excellent cars, but also offering a full range of mobility solutions. The launch of this new brand will enable the PSA Group to achieve the objectives set out in our Push to Pass plan and be the leading mobility provider for our customers. Free2Move serves the freedom of movement to our customers."

Peugeot is pushing ahead with growth plans in Chin and Asia, the new 4008 SUV is the start of 1 Million units per year by 2018.

• A plant opened as part of the Push to Pass strategy for profitable growth, which will see 20 new launches in China and Southeast Asia by 2021
• A plant dedicated to the production of SUVs, a fast-growing segment in China
• Capacity to build 300,000 vehicles a year, in line with the target of selling one million vehicles in China and Southeast Asia in 2018
• The Peugeot 4008 will be the first vehicle produced

As part of the implementation of the Push to Pass plan and to support the China & Southeast Asia region's goal of selling one million vehicles in 2018, DPCA today inaugurated its fourth assembly plant in Chengdu, China.

The ceremony was attended by Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of the PSA Group; Zhu Yanfeng, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dongfeng Motor Corporation; Denis Martin, the PSA Group's Executive Vice-President, China and ASEAN; Liu Weidong, Chief Operating Officer of Dongfeng Motor Corporation; Su Weibin, General Manager of DPCA; Jean Christophe Marchal, Executive Vice-President of DPCA and representatives of Sichuan province and the municipality of Chengdu.

The fourth DPCA plant will manufacture vehicles for the Dongfeng Peugeot, Dongfeng Citroën and Dongfeng Fengshen brands on the PSA Group's EMP2 platform, primarily in the SUV segment. Production will begin with the new Peugeot 4008 SUV, which is scheduled for launch in November 2016. Following a gain of 53% in 2015, the SUV segment continued to expand rapidly in first-half 2016, with 44% growth. It currently accounts for 38.8% of the Chinese market. As a whole, the Chinese auto market offers great potential. Car ownership stands at 75 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, and the country recently overtook the United States to become home to the world's largest middle class, which represented 110 million people at end-2015. This figure is forecast to double to 220 million by 2022.

Leveraging the best practices of PSA and Dongfeng Motor (DFM), DPCA built the plant in two years according to the highest industry standards. The world-class facility uses a flexible manufacturing system that enables close cooperation with suppliers, while adhering to the most stringent environmental principles.

In addition to the CAPSA plant in Shenzen, which manufactures DS models, DPCA's production base now comprises four assembly plants: three in Wuhan, in Hubei province, and one in Chengdu, in Sichuan province. With this new facility and DPCA's latest 5A+ medium-term plan unveiled on 11 May, the PSA Group and DFM have demonstrated their commitment to strengthening their strategic partnership in order to satisfy the needs of the Chinese market. The two partners are pursuing three clear-cut objectives for improving the joint venture's financial performance:

• Significantly increasing customer satisfaction with products and services to become one of the top three in the industry by 2018 and No. 1 by 2020
• Generating revenue in excess of RMB 100 billion by 2020
• Achieving profitable, sustainable growth underpinned by productivity gains of 30% by 2020

During the ceremony, Carlos Tavares said: "This new plant will help us to expand our vehicle range in the fast-growing SUV segment and meet the needs of our Chinese customers. It represents an important step in implementing our Push to Pass plan and achieving our objective to launch 20 new models in China by 2021 and sell over one million vehicles in the region by 2018."

AUTOCAR AWARDS - Carlos Tavares takes the Issigonis Trophy for his work in transforming the PSA GRoup.

• Carlos Tavares awarded the Issigonis Trophy
• Award presented at a glittering celebration evening at the Silverstone Race Circuit

Last night Autocar honoured the very best cars and people of the automotive industry at the new Autocar Awards, in a glittering ceremony held at the stunning Silverstone Wing of the historic UK Silverstone Race Circuit.

Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board of the PSA Group, was named the winner of the Issigonis Trophy in recognition for his work in transforming the PSA Group. The Issigonis Trophy is named after Sir Alec Issigonis, creator of one of the most iconic British cars of all time, the Mini.

Autocar editor, Matt Burt, said: “The new Autocar Awards celebrate the very best that the automotive industry has to offer, be that the cars on sale today or the people behind them. When you consider the fantastic cars produced by Citroën, DS and Peugeot it is no surprise that we have named Carlos Tavares as the winner of our highest honour, the Issigonis Trophy”.

Accepting his award at Silverstone last night, Carlos Tavares said “I am honoured to accept this award on behalf of the PSA Group. Our collective success over the past eighteen months proves to the world our potential. Now, with our 'Push to Pass' strategy in place, we will ensure PSA's continued profitable organic growth over the coming years.” 

PSA Groupe and Dongfeng, strengthen their ties to make the company stronger, healthier and more profitable.

A new milestone in the strategic partnership between PSA Group and DFM was reached at the presentation of the new "5A+" medium-term plan for Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile (DPCA)

At the presentation of the DPCA strategic plan on Wednesday, 11 May, Carlos Tavares and Zhu Yanfeng, the respective chairmen of DPCA's two company shareholders, signed an agreement to design an electric version of the Common Modular Platform (CMP), which they have been developing jointly since April 2015.

This future electric platform (e-CMP) will deliver a worldwide offering of all-electric, high-performance B and C segment vehicles for the Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Dongfeng brands from 2019.

PSA Group and DFM also signed a framework Human Resources agreement designed to increase synergies to develop talent internationally.

In practical terms, the agreement will provide for temporary employee exchanges between operational teams in the fields of Research & Development, Marketing, Manufacturing, Finance and Human Resources. Best practices will also be shared in each area of HR to identify potential areas of cooperation.

For PSA Group, the agreement goes hand in hand with its Push to Pass strategic plan and serves to address a number of human resources challenges.

At the ceremony, Carlos Tavares, Chairman of PSA Group's Managing Board, emphasised the effectiveness of the collaboration between the PSA and DFM teams and the importance of building on its synergies through talent sharing. He said: "The future e-CMP platform is a key milestone in our partnership with Dongfeng. It will speed up the worldwide development of both of our groups, while helping us to reach the strict carbon objective set for 2020”.

The new “5A+” medium-term strategic plan is designed to make DPCA "an efficient car manufacturer, capable of providing its customers with comprehensive mobility solutions."

The plan has three strategic focuses:

• To significantly increase customer satisfaction with products and services, with the aim of moving into the top 3 ranking in the industry by 2018 and becoming No.1 in 2020.
• Generate revenue in excess of RMB 100 billion by 2020.
• To ensure profitable, sustainable growth underpinned by productivity gains of 30% by 2020.

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.

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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 Group announces more growth in, income, profits and sales, and expect it to get better too.

"Our first-half results are very positive but we need to review them on a full-year basis," said Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Managing Board. "In this unstable international environment, the company and its staff – whom I thank wholeheartedly – must all be focused on the full execution of the “Back in the Race” plan in order to secure the Group's recovery."

Consolidated net revenue represented €28,904 million in the first half of 2015, up 6.9% vs 2014. The Automotive Division reported revenue of €19,409 million, a year-on-year rise of 4.3% driven by the increase in net prices, a positive product mix and a favourable currency impact.

Consolidated Recurring Operating Income amounted to €1,424 million, versus €387 million in first-half 2014. Most of the growth came from the Automotive Division, with a €968 million improvement due to a favourable business environment contributing for nearly a third, and the combined impact of cost saving and positive product mix effects - reflecting the success of recent vehicle launches and the pricing power policy.

The Automotive Division's pro forma recurring operating income, which includes 50% of the results of Chinese joint ventures, was up €1,065 million¹ to €1,193 million.

Non-recurring operating income and expenses resulted in a net expense of €342 million in the first half of the year, primarily due to restructuring costs incurred by the Automotive Division.

Financial income and expenses represented a net expense of €336 million compared with €344 million in first-half 2014.

Net income for the period came to €720 million, up €762 million year-on-year.

Banque PSA Finance reported recurring operating income of €294 million², a rise of €122 million on first-half 2014. Further to the February 2015 agreement with Santander Consumer Finance, two joint ventures – one in France, the other in the United Kingdom – are already operational. As a result, the Group is benefiting from some of the most competitive refinancing conditions in the market.

Faurecia's recurring operating income amounted to €424 million, a year-on-year increase of 36.3%.

Free cash flow of manufacturing and sales companies amounted to €2,792 million, driven by an improvement in the cash flow from operations, seasonal changes in working capital requirement (up €932 million over the period due to high production in Europe in May-June 2015) and dividends paid from DPCA and Banque PSA Finance during the first half.

Excluding €321 million restructuring expenses and €331 million exceptional income, operating free cash flow for the period came to €2,782 million.

Total inventory at end-June 2015, including independent dealers, stood at 391,000 vehicles, 16,000 fewer than at end-June 2014.

The manufacturing and sales companies’ net financial position at 30 June 2015 was a positive €3,562 million, up €3,014 million vs 31 December 2014. Aside from free cash flow generation, the improvement was notably attributable to the exercise of stock warrants for a total of €120 million.

Market Outlook

In 2015 the Group expects automotive demand to expand by 6% in Europe and approximately 3% in China but to contract by around 15% in Latin America and 35% in Russia.

Operational Outlook

The Group aims to generate operating free cash flow of around €2 billion over the period 2015-2017. It is also targeting an operating margin³ 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.

1. On first-half 2014, restated following the application of IFRS 5
2. 100% of the results of Banque PSA Finance. In the financial statements of PSA Peugeot Citroën , the two joint ventures are consolidated at equity, and the other businesses covered by the Santander agreement are declassified under ‘Net result from operationsto be continued in partnership’.
3. Recurring operating income relating to the Automotive Division’s revenue

PSA does not deny that it may consider a merger once the turnaround has been completed.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will only be ready for a possible merger after it has completed its recovery plan, CEO Carlos Tavares told a newspaper, dampening speculation of a potential tie-up with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

"[Fiat Chrysler CEO] Sergio Marchionne is welcome every time he wants to speak to us but for us it's a little bit early now," Tavares said in an interview published by Italy's Corriere della Sera today. "We need to finish our cure and recover our good health."

Earlier this month Marchionne said he was exploring various merger and acquisition options.

Equity researchers MainFirst have speculated how a potential merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA could work out. The two companies could form a new automaker called Peugeot Chrysler Fiat Automobiles with Marchionne as chairman and Tavares as CEO, MainFirst said, according to a report in French newspaper Les Echos.

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