French car sales dive as Peugeot-GM tie-up disappoints

[FarCenter]

New car sales in France plunged by an annualised 20.2 percent in February, industry data showed on Thursday, with the worst falls recorded by PSA Peugeot Citroen whose announced tie up with General Motors pushed PSA shares down.

Ratings agency Moody's downgraded the PSA group one notch to non-investment status, warning that similar alliances in the auto sector often failed to match expectations.

Moody's slapped Peugeot with a Ba3 rating and a negative outlook based on poor earnings while adding that previous mergers and alliances "have often not resulted in the anticipated competitive advantage and improved performance".

Sales in February by Peugeot plummeted by 29.2 percent while fellow French carmaker Renault saw its sale drop 28.5 percent.

http://www.france24.com/en/20120301-french-car-sales-dive-peugeot-gm-tie-disappoints

[MADem]

1. I'm guessing they aren't grinding out those old Deux Cheveax!

Great on gas, those cars, but a bit like a tuna fish can on wheels...

[NNN0LHI]

2. French are some protectionist folks

I can remember when their dock workers refused to unload imported cars.

Don