Electrification and digitization at Groupe PSA, is it present or is it the future?
Both are present and future. If we talk about electrification, the Group is immersed in an ambitious offensive, which foresees the incorporation of a 100% electric or plug-in hybrid version to the offer of each new model that is launched from 2019, until reaching 100% of the range in 2025 And up to 10 models of the Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles and Opel brands can now be purchased from our dealer network. In the same way, digitization today affects all aspects of the business, from plants, to R&D projects, sales and marketing policies, customer relations, and internal communication.
The option to purchase the electric car unfortunately coexists with the fear of the lack of infrastructure on the part of the user of these vehicles. How does Grupo PSA propose to break this barrier?
At Groupe PSA we are aware that electrification still generates many doubts for customers and that one of the most important concerns the available infrastructures. Spain follows the tail of Europe in this matter, so if we want to promote this market it is necessary to develop a network of recharging points that facilitate the use of this type of vehicle. To do this, at Groupe PSA we have installed 2,000 charging points in 100% of our brands’ network. In addition, throughout Europe, the Group offers its customers, individuals and professionals, access to a specific service for the purchase and installation of their charging points.
Within the wide range of products that the four brands add, what do you think would be the smartest choice for a big city today?
I believe that the smartest option is always the one that best responds to the specific mobility needs of each person. Not all people who move around the city by car are going to give it the same use. For this reason, in the ranges of our brands, we offer models that adapt to all types of customers. But not only different models, but also different energies, that is to say, from this year, all the Group’s new launches offer an electrified version, 100% electric or plug-in hybrid, together with the versions with highly efficient gasoline and diesel engines. In addition, Groupe PSA, as a service provider, also makes the emov by Free2Move carsharing service available to you . Our goal is to offer the client all possible options so that they can choose the type of mobility that suits them best.
Do you think Spain will live up to the needs created after the automotive industry’s definitive commitment to the electric vehicle?
From the automotive sector we work day by day to make it so. But the success of electrification involves bringing these types of vehicles closer to customers, deploying a wide network of recharging points and putting on the table incentives for their purchase that mitigate the higher price associated with the cost of batteries, which still today we produce outside of Europe. In this sense, the recent implementation of plans such as MOVES II and Renove is good news.
What is the current state of the PSA Group factories in Spain after the tragic global stoppage caused by Covid-19?
After the stoppage caused by COVID-19, our three factories in Spain have resumed activity gradually and safely. The highest priority for Groupe PSA has been and is to protect the health and safety of its workers, customers and suppliers, for which exhaustive protocols have been applied, including, for example, the modification of assembly lines so that operators have distance and guarantee their security, the performance of temperature controls in the access to the centers, etc. The pace and volume of protection will depend, as always, on the evolution of demand in the target markets for the models produced in our country.
Is the future of these factories guaranteed?
Groupe PSA’s commitment to Spain and its plants is clear. This is demonstrated by the significant investments made by the Group in our country, which has led us to be the only manufacturer that already produces 100% electric vehicles in all its Spanish factories. The current, worldwide exclusive manufacture of the new 100% electric models, Opel Corsa-e, in Zaragoza, Peugeot e-2008, in Vigo and soon Citroën Ë-C4 in Madrid, as well as the award of the production of a new generation of 100% electric commercial vehicles in Vigo starting next year, prove the importance of the Spanish plants for the Group, as well as the strong competitiveness and the high level of qualification of the workforce, which ensures the production and commercialization of vehicles with high quality standards.
Madrid and Citroën C4 Eléctrico, does Groupe PSA silence any doubts about the durability of the only existing car factory in the interior of a European capital?
The award of the Citroën C4 to the Madrid Center, announced in May 2017, ensured the activity of the plant in the coming years with an investment by Groupe PSA of 144 million euros to place the Madrid plant at the highest level of its industrial device with a project that included the introduction of the new latest generation CMP platform, which includes a 100% electric version, and which allows gasoline, diesel and 100% electric versions to be manufactured on the same production line, which constitutes a competitive advantage as it allows a rapid adaptation of production to possible changes in demand that may be generated in the market.
How do you see the industry and the automobile in ten years and in which square of the board would you like to be positioned?
I do not know in which square I will be in 2030, but what is certain is that the world of the automobile that we will live in will have little to do with the one we know today. At Groupe PSA we have identified megatrends such as respect for the environment, digitization, connectivity, the autonomous vehicle or shared mobility, which are going to radically transform the way we move. In 2030, shared and connected mobility will in fact be a fundamental pillar of the automotive industry and more than 25% of the benefits will come from new mobility offerings .
