AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/22 Report--

On April 21st, PSA Group released its first-quarter 2020 results. According to the data, PSA Group achieved operating income of 15.179 billion euros from January to March, down 15.6 percent from 17.976 billion euros in 2019. Among them, in the automotive business sector, PSA realized operating revenue of 11.934 billion euros, down 15.7% from a year earlier. Obviously, the PSA Group has not been able to avoid the impact of COVID-19 's epidemic on the automobile business. Due to the intensification of the impact of the epidemic on global automobile production and sales, the sharp decline in sales has hindered the operation of PSA Group.

According to sales figures released by PSA Group, PSA Group (including Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Opel / Vauxhall) delivered 627024 new cars worldwide in the first quarter of this year, down 29.2% from 885951 in 2019. In terms of specific brands, Peugeot brand sales fell 26.2% year-on-year to 258946 vehicles, Citroen brand sales fell 28.6% year-on-year to 171124 vehicles, Opel / Vauxhall brand sales fell 35.0% to 185205 vehicles in the first quarter, and DS brand sales in the first quarter were 11749 vehicles, up 9.9% from a year earlier, making it the only brand in the group to grow.

In terms of specific markets, PSA delivered 548631 new vehicles in the European market in the first quarter, down 30% from the same period last year; 23837 in Latin America, down 26% from the same period last year; 38103 new vehicles in the Middle East and Africa, up 44.1% from the same period last year; 5332 in the Indo-Pacific region, down 4.7% from the same period last year; and 3283 new vehicles in other parts of Eurasia, up 39.2% from the same period last year. 7838 vehicles were delivered in China and Southeast Asia, down 78.2% from the same period last year.

Philippe de Rovira, chief financial officer of the PSA Group, said: "after ensuring liquidity and slashing costs, the group is now fully prepared to rebound in a chaotic economic environment. PSA Group is preparing for a rebound in a chaotic economic environment, and although PSA Group maintains its medium-term profit target unchanged, the outlook is difficult to assess. " PSA expects the car market in Europe, China, Latin America and Russia to decline by 25%, 10%, 25% and 20%, respectively. In addition, the market outlook is expected to depend on the global scale, duration and geographical scope of the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as by different national epidemic prevention measures.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic forced the company to close factories around the world. Since mid-March, the PSA Group has closed a number of factories in Europe, including Milus in France, Madrid in Spain, Ellesmere Port in the United Kingdom, Russelsheim in Germany, Eisenach and Glivez in Poland. As for when to restart, the French carmaker declined to disclose information.

At present, PSA Group only has DPCA, which is a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor, to resume production. Data show that DPCA sold 6385 vehicles in the first quarter, down 81.58 per cent from 34658 in 2019. On April 20th, Dongfeng Peugeot brand-new 2008 and e2008 models began pre-sale.

It is understood that in order to protect the group's cash flow, the PSA Group announced on April 6 that it would borrow another 3 billion euros to cope with the impact of novel coronavirus's epidemic. Peugeot-Citroen said the loan was based on the 3 billion euros of unused credit lines already held, so the total credit and loan lines available to the group were 6 billion euros.

In addition, in order to combat the epidemic, PSA Group also partnered with Air Liquide, Schneider Electric and Valeo to produce medical ventilators.

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