French car-maker PSA’s vehicle sales fell 12.8 per cent in the first half as emerging markets weighed on its overseas business, challenging the trajectory of the Peugeot manufacturer’s recovery. Sales fell to 1.9 million light vehicles in January-June, the company said on Monday, from 2.18 million a year earlier. PSA, which has notched up successive sales and profit records under chief executive Carlos Tavares, is due to report full earnings for the period on July 24th. In Europe, its biggest market by far, PSA eked out a 0.3 per cent gain in sales that lifted its share of an automotive market down 2.5 per cent overall. PSA recorded sharp declines almost everywhere else, however, with deliveries down a further 60.6 per cent in China, where the group has suffered a protracted sales collapse at its joint ventures with local manufacturers Dongfeng and Changan.

Source: The Irish Times July 15, 2019 16:18 UTC