PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Renault Say They're Too Thin on Profits by Making Cars in France

In a move that reminds us a lot of what Fiat-Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne told the Italian government not too long ago, both Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroen executives told French parliamentary officials in separate appearances before the Senate that they can't make a profit from building cars in France.

According to a report from Autonews Europe, the Renault Group was represented by chief operating officer Carlos Tavares, while PSA Peugeot-Citroen sent Denis Martin, executive vice president for industrial operations. Both automakers confirmed the comments.

Tavares told the French commissions that one of Renault's most popular models, the Clio, costs €1,300 (US$1,700) more to produce at the firm's Flins plant in France than in the company's factory in Bursa, Turkey.

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VW Golf Keeps its Sales Crown in Europe for 2011, Polo Comes in 2nd, Ford Fiesta 3rd

The sixth generation of the Volkswagen Golf is in its final year with a replacement due to be unveiled at the upcoming Paris Motor Show this fall, yet it still managed to sell more cars than any other model in Europe in 2011 for a third year in a row, according to data provided from JATO Dynamics.

Volkswagen delivered 484,547 units of the Golf in 2011, down 1.6% over the previous year. The German company also took second spot with the Polo that sold 356,490 cars, up 0.5%, while the Ford Fiesta with 348,465 sales (-13.3%), the Opel / Vauxhall Corsa with 313,325 units (-1.7%) and the Renault Clio with 294,172 (-13.1%) complete the Top 5.

We should note that all Top 10 best-sellers came from either German (7 models) or French (3 models) brands.

JATO Dynamics says that outside the top ten, certain models performed much better than their predecessors did including Peugeot’s new 508, which saw its sales rise almost three times achieved by its predecessor, the 407, in 2010, the new Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max, Citroën C4, BMW X3 and Kia Sportage.

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