Christophe Bergerand heads PSA Peugeot Citroen in Russia, CIS
MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) - Christophe Bergerand replaced Bernd Schantz as CEO of PSA Peugeot Citroen in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS on January 1, 2014, the automobile manufacturer said in a statement.
Schantz became director of CIS operations in 2010.
Bergerand started his career with PSA Peugeot Citroen in 1988. He has held various positions at the company, including head of Peugeot Portugal and Italy and commercial director of Peugeot in France. In March 2010, he began carrying out the duties of director of the group's retail chain, which includes over 400 dealerships in 20 countries.
Bergerand will work on boosting sales in Russia, strengthening the group's position on the market and expanding its local production volume. At the same time, the directorate will continue developing activities on other markets of the CIS, particularly in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, PSA Peugeot Citroen said.
The division for Russia, Ukraine and CIS countries was created in 2010 in the framework of PSA's business globalization strategy. The group established three geographic zones for expanding operations: Asia, where China is the key market; Latin America (Brazil and Argentina); and Russia and the CIS. The group is planning to increase sales outside of Europe to 50% of total sales.
The head office for the company's operations in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS is located in Moscow. The office controls the company's commercial branches in Russia and Ukraine; the joint factory for full-scale production in Kaluga, Russia and Peugeot's industrial project in Kostanai, Kazakhstan. The office also coordinates the activity of importers in other CIS countries.
According to the European Business Association, Peugeot-Citroen's sales in Russia fell by 20% to 57,535 automobiles in January-November of 2013. In November 2013, there was a 15% drop to 4,765 automobiles. Peugeot sales fell 24% in 11M 2013 to 31,117 automobiles and Citroen sales fell 13% to 26,418 automobiles.