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The decades-long absence of new French cars available in American showrooms has no end in sight.
The CEO of Stellantis, the new parent company of recently-merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, has said the Peugeot and Citroën brands are not likely to make a reappearance in the United States any time soon. Stellantis’ global lineup consists of a dizzying array of car brands, including Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat, and Alfa Romeo — all of which are sold in the U.S. — and Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, and Vauxhall that aren’t headed here any time soon.
“I think it’s better that we funnel the talent, the capital, and the engineering capability of our Stellantis company to the existing brands to improve what needs to be improved and to accelerate where we need to accelerate because we already have a very strong presence in this market,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a recent conference call, according to Car and Driver.
Previously, PSA Group had gone as far as setting up a small North American-market headquarters in Atlanta as part of a plan to sell Peugeots here by 2026.
Peugeot was the last French automaker to sell cars in the U.S., but it hasn’t operated dealers here since the late 1980s. Citroën puttered out of the American market in 1974. Both French brands have relatively strong footholds in Europe and South America, and Peugeots are even sold as far north as Mexico. Peugeot dealers are even located just a mile inside the Mexican border across from San Diego and El Paso.
So close, and yet so far.
