PSA COUV page . page RA GB - PEUGEOT Presse

Growth Strategy
Corporate
Governance
Business Review
Corporate Policies
Management’s
Discussion
and Analysis
Statistics
PEUGEOT MOTOCYCLES
The European motorcycle and scooter
market contracted for the third year in a
row in 2002, declining 12% to 1,230,000
units from nearly 1,400,000 in 2001.
While continuing to fall in Italy and Spain,
demand began to weaken in France, the
United Kingdom and Germany—all very
important markets for Peugeot Motocycles
(PMTC).
The softer markets pulled PMTC sales
volumes down 9.5%, to 162,000 vehicles
from 179,000 the year before. Sales
remained almost unchanged at €257.3
million, however, due to a more favorable
product mix following higher sales of
premium scooters requiring registration
like the Elystar. Unit sales did not decline
as far as the overall European market,
enabling PMTC to widen its share to nearly
13% from 12.2% in 2001. On a country
basis, the improvement was especially
strong in Italy (3% versus 1.9%), France
(30.1% versus 26.4%), Germany (17.4%
versus 13.4%) and Belgium (29.4% versus
28.1%). However, the drop-off in demand
caused the company to report an
operating loss of €12 million.
During the year, PMTC pursued its
strategic focus on developing products
and modernizing facilities. Highlights
included:
• Market launch of the Elystar, a GT
scooter with, in a world first, a fuelinjected
engine and ABS-assisted
braking. The 7,000 units sold exceeded
objectives by 50%.
• Presentation of JetForce, a new sports
scooter that was voted Scooter of the
Year. Offering a large number of
technological innovations, the new bike
is now being delivered to dealers.
• Implementation of the Downstream
Project to upgrade assembly lines and
install a new, fully-computerized parts
warehouse.
PMTC expects demand to edge up slightly
in 2003, when new product introductions
should drive stronger growth in sales.
PSA PEUGEOT CITROËN - MANAGING BOARD REPORT 57