PSA Peugeot Citroen May Halt Sale of Hybrids, EVs in China Over Intellectual Property Concerns
PSA Peugeot Citroen is the first automaker to publicly stand up to the Chinese government’s proposed Green Car Plan. Recently an initial draft of a new piece of Chinese government legislation was leaked in which was revealed plans by the world’s largest auto market to strong arm international auotmakers into sharing their hybrid and electric vehicle technology with Chinese partners.
Currently in China if an automaker wants to set up shop it has to partner with a local company in order to do so. Under China’s new Green Car Plan, designed to make China a world leader in hybrid and EV technology, partnerships would now require the local business to take a controlling share of the joint venture if the international company wanted to build or sell “green” cars in China. In other words, the Chinese government is using the lure of its massive (and expanding) auto market to pry industry secrets away from companies – something that isn’t sitting well at all with companies like PSA Peugeot Citroen, after pouring billions of dollars into their own development projects.
In a recent interview with Automotive News China, PSA CFO Frederic Saint Geours commented rather unequivocally that, “The Chinese government will have to reconsider its position.”
With PSA making this dramatic statement, other automakers are likely to step forward and challenge the Chinese governments policy.
[Source: Automotive News China via Autoblog]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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