Groupe PSA hasn’t been shy about its plans to return to North America and now the company has revealed a handful of states it is considering for a comeback.
Auto News Europe reports the company’s North American CEO, Larry Dominique, revealed the company has identified 15 states that would likely be receptive to the automaker. Among the states identified were Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
While the list isn’t set in stone, the states are responsible for 62 percent of the vehicles sold in America. Consumers in these states have also shown a willingness to buy imports and that’s an important consideration given the country’s growing hostility to foreign brands. As Dominique explained, “Those states are of the most interest to me, at this point in time, because they’re high volume and import receptive.”
North of the boarder, PSA is eyeing the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec for similar reasons. However, buyers are even more concentrated in Canada as these four provinces are responsible for 87 percent of auto sales.
PSA hasn’t said which brand it will bring to North America, but a launch is slated to occur by 2026. That’s still a ways off, but the company has already laying the groundwork. PSA launched its Free2Move mobility app in Settle last fall and announced plans to setup its North American headquarters in Atlanta earlier this year.
That’s just the first phase and the second reportedly involves getting ride sharing / ride hailing companies to use vehicles from PSA. This will help build customer awareness of the models before retail sales start in the third phase of the plan.
Speaking of vehicles, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares has already confirmed US-spec models are under development and they are being created with the assistance of Opel. The former GM brand used to help the American company develop models such as the Buick Regal.
