There is another Franco-Japanese team in the car, less exposed than Renault-Nissan these days. The one between PSA and Toyota. But that does not mean that nothing is happening in this partnership dating from 2001 . According to our information, Toyota and PSA have decided to broadly review the contours of their partnership.
The builders first decided to end by 2021 their association in the design and manufacture of small vehicles. Toyota will buy back PSA’s shares in the existing joint venture, and will therefore integrate with its industrial unit the Czech factory in Kolin today belonging to both groups – who produce Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1. It has a capacity of 300,000 units per year.
Their union in commercial vehicles will then be expanded. PSA Sevelnord will continue to assemble vans for Toyota, but the tricolor plant in Vigo, Spain (which produces Berlingot and Partner), will also machine vehicles under the Toyota brand. Contacted, PSA and Toyota declined to comment.
Logic for PSA
For PSA, abandoning the Kolin plant makes sense, since the group has got its hands on Opel factories, which are far from turning 100%. This is also part of the house’s product strategy, which consists of multiplying silhouettes on the same basis to minimize costs. Finally, you should know that the small class A cars are sold in Europe, which does not necessarily match the ambition of Carlos Tavares, the CEO, to sell only gear able to be sold in the whole world.