PSA’s Slovakia unit to boost output with new model

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen expects to raise annual capacity at its factory in Trnava, Slovakia, to more than 300,000 by 2017 with the production of a new Citroen model, the company said.

PSA did not name the new model but previous reports have said the automaker will move production of the Citroen C3 hatchback to the plant from its factory in Poissy, France, where the company will add a new subcompact model for the upscale DS brand.

The production swap is part of a strategy to shift production of low-margin small cars away from Western Europe where costs are considered too high, reports said.

“The new model will enable us to improve utilization of the Trnava factory. It creates conditions for raising capacity over 300,000 cars a year,” Remi Girardon, the head of PSA’s Slovak unit, was quoted as saying by news agency Sita.

PSA raised production at the plant last year by 2.7 percent to 255,176 vehicles, with utilization at 85 percent, the company said. The factory is expected to lift output to 275,000 vehicles this year and maintain that level in 2016.

In Trnava, PSA currently builds the Citroen C3 Picasso minivan and Peugeot 208 hatchback, according to Automotive News Europe’s European car assembly plant map.