France's Charge Back Into the U.S. Market to Be Led by Former Nissan Executive

France’s PSA Group appears to be getting serious about its re-entry into the U.S. market, naming former Nissan executive Larry Dominique as the head of its North American endeavors. That means the possibility of seeing new Peugeots or Citroëns on the road is no longer just a pipe dream.

However, PSA hasn’t yet made up its mind on which brands will debut in America. The Peugeot lineup makes the most sense, as it’s the French brand most American’s actually still remember, but Citroen has more eccentric models that could appeal to a specific subset of customers. The latter also has the DS sub-brand that might appeal to upscale buyers, even if it were to come in on its own.

The final decision won’t come until PSA has spent time and money performing loads of consumer research and logistical analysis.

“This is a market that, as a full-line automaker, you need to be part of,” Dominique told Automotive News in a phone interview yesterday as he scouted U.S. cities for the future company headquarters. “But this is a 10-year project. It’s not about jumping in and creating market share as quickly as possible.”

Dominique, 54, will be senior vice president for the newly minted PSA North America and placed in charge of returning the automaker to the U.S. for first time since 1991 — the year Peugeot pulled up stakes and left town.

“The reality is that Peugeot as a brand left the United States 26 years ago,” he said. “The marketplace is so different today. What happened back then — what went right, what might have gone wrong, the reasons for the exit — to me are irrelevant now. The brands themselves, the vehicles that PSA produces are so different than their positioning back then.”

The comeback will be anything but traditional, however. Last year, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares suggested the company would probably re-enter the U.S. as a mobility company first, offering ride-hailing and car-sharing services in French vehicles. While bringing your introductory fleet in as taxis doesn’t sound like a great way to develop intrigue, offering ride-sharing could be a good way to acquire feedback and get potential buyers interested in your wares. General Motors and Mercedes-Benz are both taking similar approaches with their own rent-a-car programs.

Eventually, PSA does want people purchasing its cars, though it Dominique has declined to say if the plan is to do that through a dealership-based distribution network or not. He did specify that the goal was not to have PSA enter the U.S. within ten years, but to have it be well-established by that date.

“It’s going to be a significant amount of money to re-enter the market,” he said. “But we haven’t set a number … If we can find more efficient ways to market and sell our vehicles — whether it’s in a traditional partnership with investors or not — those are things that can heavily influence the cost of coming to market.”

[Image: PSA Group]