Peugeot-Citroen & Renault are the 3 main French car manufacturers. They are present all over the world, from Europe to Asia, from Africa to South America. Hence, Renault is present in 118countries (figures from their website), and Peugeot is well settled in countries like China or Russia.These three companies tried to get into the US market in the 70s but did not encounter success. Because of this failure, no other attempt have been tried so far.
But I really believe that French cars should be in this market, and here are the reasons why.
The market has changed since the 70s-80s failure.
At this time, the US market was dominated by US car manufacturers such as General Motors, which were proposing the same kind of car ranges than French producers did. The only foreign companies that succeeded at this time were Asian manufacturers proposing cheap cars, which US companies did not really know how to do at this time.
Also there was a high cost of distribution in this market. The supply chain was costly as French companies' plants were mainly in Europe, and also did not have a proper retail system to deal with tis cost.
Nowadays, we see that the supremacy of US manufacturers in the domestic market has collapsed. GM is facing major problems and losing market shares. It is not taboo anymore to by an Asian car, and top of the line European brands such as BMW, Mercedes or Saab are now on the market. So why not French cars?
The need for more fuel efficient car
With the gas prices rocketing these days MPG (miles per gallon) has become the n1 issue in the US. Most of car commercials on TV are focusing on gas efficiency, as they understood it was a priority for American consumers. Over the past years, we have seen a great shift, from big pick-up truck to smaller vehicle, consuming less gas. Gas prices will still go up. This is also one of the reason why US manufacturers have problems to face Asian companies: they have never developed a real know-how on how to deliver fuel efficient cars.
Even though Toyota's hybrid engine is a way more advance technology than French car manufacturer propose so far, French cars are known not to consume a lot of gas (as gas prices are way more higher than here in the US).
The need of small urban cars
Major cities downtown are getting more and more busy, and it is hard to find parking places now. This explains why the Smart cars are knowing success in the US. French cars have a great know-how on how to build small convenient cars, with the 207 for Peugeot, Clio for Renault, and C3 for Citroen. If the Smart and Mini Coopers are succeeding, there is a market for French small cars.
The need of exoticisms
Design-wise, US car models are not real innovative nor attractive. US consumers are seeking for nice design, that are actually most of the time proposed by European manufacturers: The New Beetle, Mini Cooper or BMW's models. French cars have original designs that have their chances to seduce the American clientele.
So what do you think about it? Are you ready to buy French cars? Do you think it is the best time to get into this market?
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