Tråd: Tavares Kunne Tage Tøjlerne i PSA Peugeot Citroen i Marts

Kilder tæt på situationen fortæller Reuters, at Carlos Tavares, Carlos Ghosns tidligere andet i kommandoen hos Renault, kunne løbe rivaliserende PSA Peugeot Citroen så snart marts. Tavares officielt sluttede PSA som CEO-i-venter på Jan. 1. Peugeot havde tidligere sagt kun at Tavares vil overtage engang i år. Peugeot formanden Thierry Peugeot fortalte Le Figaro i et interview offentliggjort i weekenden at companys bestyrelse snart ville træffe afgørelse om den officielle overgangsdato.
Nogle observatører havde tænkt Tavares kunne tage af februar 19 Hvornår Peugeot annoncerer sin årlige resultater. Det var planen... men Philippe Varin ønsker at forblive i sin stilling, indtil den kinesiske præsident besøger Frankrig i marts, sagde en af kilderne. Eftersom Varin spillede en vigtig rolle i Dongfeng deal, er det helt muligt, at erstatning kan vente til marts.
Den kinesiske præsident, Xi Jinping vil gøre hans første stat tur til Europa i marts, til at mødes med Kinas handelspartnere efter et år med handel spændinger med EU.
Dongfeng, et statsejet Kinesisk bilproducent, har indvilget i at slutte sig til den franske regering i at tage minoritetsandele i PSA, og vil investere $4. 1 milliard i den franske bilproducent. Peugeot har bestyrelsen vedtaget i princippet til den aftale, som ville resultere i en Peugeot familie at miste kontrollen over virksomheden.
Peugeot har brug for en kilde til penge til at udvikle nyt produkt-og forblive konkurrencedygtige, som et faldende salg i sin kerne marked i Europa. Den ønsker også at udvide samarbejdet med Dongfeng. De to virksomheder i dag opererer i et joint venture samling af biler i Kina. Dongfeng og PSA har været diskussioner om at udvide deres samarbejde til andre Asiatiske lande.

Sources close to the situation tell Reuters that Carlos Tavares, Carlos Ghosns former second in command at Renault, could start running rival PSA Peugeot Citroen as soon as March. Tavares officially joined PSA as CEO-in-waiting on Jan. 1. Peugeot had previously said only that Tavares would take over sometime this year. Peugeot Chairman Thierry Peugeot told Le Figaro in an interview published over the weekend that the companys board of directors would soon decide on the official transition date.
Some observers had thought Tavares could take over by Feb. 19 when Peugeot announces its annual results. That was the plan … but Philippe Varin wants to remain in his post until the Chinese president visits France in March, said one of the sources. Given that Varin played an important role in the Dongfeng deal, it is completely possible that the replacement can wait until March.
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping will make his first state trip to Europe in March, to meet with Chinas trading partners after a year of trade tensions with the EU.
Dongfeng, a state-owned Chinese automaker, has agreed to join the French government in taking minority stakes in PSA, and will be investing $4. 1 billion in the French automaker. The Peugeot board has agreed in principle to the deal, which would result in the Peugeot family losing control of the company.
Peugeot needs a source of cash to develop new product and stay competitive as sales decline in its core market of Europe. It also wants to expand the relationship with Dongfeng. The two companies currently operate a joint venture assembling cars in China. Dongfeng and PSA have been in discussions to expand their cooperative work to other Asian countries.