PSA Peugeot Citroen 2007 world sales up 1.8 pct to 3.428 mln units UPDATE

PSA Peugeot Citroen 2007 world sales up 1.8 pct to 3.428 mln units UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:20 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Updates with broker comment, regional sales figures)

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - PSA Peugeot Citroen said world sales rose 1.8 pct to 3.428 mln units in 2007, compared with 3.366 mln in 2006.

The automobile manufacturer said it expects world sales to increase by around 5 pct in 2008 to between 3.55 mln and 3.65 mln units. Growth is expected to be stronger in the second half of 2008 than in the first half, thanks to the company's new product launch schedule.

This weighting is 'a mild negative given the recent launches of the 308, C4

Picasso and 207 variants. PSA should be enjoying a sweet spot in its cycle at

this stage,' said a dealer at a leading European brokerage.

'We expect competition to significantly intensify from the second half with the launch of a raft of new products from key rivals, including Renault and Volkswagen,' the dealer said.

The company said it also saw an acceleration of growth in the second half of 2007, with vehicle sales up 6.2 pct in the second half, compared with growth of 1.7 pct in the first half.

PSA said 2007 was the first year of sales growth in Europe since 2002. The group said registrations of its passenger and light utility vehicles were up 0.9 pct to 2.33 mln units, in a market that grew by 0.7 pct.

'In a difficult commercial context, after several years of losing market share, the group's position is stable at 13.8 pct - 7.3 pct for Peugeot, 6.6 pct for Citroen.

The group said its sales growth outstripped market growth in Brazil and Argentina, with a 32.5 pct increase, compared with 27.6 pct market growth in Brazil and 26.6 pct in Argentina.

In China, the Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile sold 209,000 vehicles, an increase of 3.1 pct after the 63 pct increase in 2006. The market grew by 24.5 pct, the company said.

Russian sales were up by a third to 36,000 units in a market that grew by 35 pct.

In eastern and central Europe, the group's sales also increased by more than the market's increase, the company said.

helen.beresford@thomson.com

hem/ajb

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