From the beginning of next year PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s joint venture with Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motor will take over the vehicle import business that is currently being handled by the French carmaker’s office in Asia. Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile (DPCA) said the move is intended to integrate PSA’s vehicle distribution in China.

DPCA will become the distributor for most imported Peugeot and Citroën vehicles, including the Peugeot 4008, Peugeot RCZ, Citroën C4 Aircross and the Citroën C4 Picasso. The exception is the Citroën DS line, which will continue to be handled by PSA’s other joint venture in China, Changan PSA Automobile.

The company did not confirm whether the transfer of responsibility included the management of transport and logistics.

Dealers in China selling locally produced Peugeot and Citroën vehicles will now add the imports to their line up.

In the first nine months, DPCA delivered almost 518,500 locally produced Peugeot and Citroën cars, an increase of 30% year-on-year. DPCA’s full-year objective is to sell more than 700,000 vehicles in China.

Overall in China and South East Asia, unit sales rose by more than 44.4% in Q3, lifted by the recent launches of the Peugeot 301, 2008 and 408, the Citroën C-Elysée and C4L, and the start-up of the DS brand with the DS 5, DS 5 LS and DS 6. The increase in unit sales greatly exceeded the market’s growth of 8% in China according to the company.

DPCA has three plants in Wuhan and last month began work on its fourth assembly plant in China. The plant in Chengdu will build Dongfeng Citroën, Dongfeng Peugeot and Dongfeng Fengshen-badged vehicles, primarily for the SUV and MPV segments. The first car is scheduled to roll off the line in late 2016 and, combined with the capacity at the Wuhan plants, it will lift production capacity to more than 1m units. Changan PSA Automobile produces the DS line up at a plant in Shenzen.

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