Dongfeng Peugeot: three into one?

China’s Dongfeng Motor Corporation Ltd, the Peugeot family and the French government are poised to control France’s largest vehicle business, and the second largest in European car sales.

But how well will China's Dongfeng Motor Corporation be able to drive a company, that if past history is anything to go by, has been difficult to steer in the right direction – the right direction being the ability to make profits and grow the business on a world-wide scale?

Volvo seeks slice of China

Volvo Corporation has paid about £570 million (about US$1 billion) for a 45 per cent stake in Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles Company (DCVC).

Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DMC) is already the largest producer of heavy-duty trucks in China while Volvo is the world’s third largest truck maker.

The market in China for such vehicles is said to be larger than the combined markets of the USA and Europe. China is reputed to account for 50 per cent of the world truck market.

Last year, the market for trucks in China totalled 636,000 for which Dongfeng is reputed to have taken a 16 per cent share. The medium-sized truck market accounted for some 290,000 units of which Dongfeng again accounted for 16 per cent.