PSA Peugeot Citroën and consulting firm Altran will reportedly open an engineering center in Morocco, in a move that could precede an investment in low-cost vehicle assembly in the North African country.
According to two people familiar with the plan cited by Reuters, Peugeot will outsource some research and development functions to the new Altran center, creating 1,500 jobs. The site will be located in Casablanca and will specialize in computer-assisted design, modeling and technical documentation.
The next step could be the building of an assembly plant. Renault already builds low-cost Dacia models in Morocco at its plant in Tangier. However, a Peugeot spokesman said the company doesn’t have plans for a low-cost assembly plant in Morocco and didn’t confirm the R&D center either.
If the report gets confirmed, it would be an important step for Peugeot in its bid to regain competitiveness. However, any impact on jobs in France will certainly be unpopular with unions and the government.
The closest thing PSA Peugeot Citroën currently has to budget models are the Peugeot 301 (pictured) and Citroën C-Elysée sedans, which are built in Spain on stripped-down architectures of more expensive models. The new C4 Cactus also signals the company’s entry into lower price points.
Peugeot’s low-cost plan remains current, but it has been delayed as the company focuses on restructuring challenges at home as well as a possible reopening of the Iranian market, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
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