PSA halts car output in Slovakia on weak demand
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BRATISLAVA (Reuters) -- PSA/Peugeot-Citroen halted car production in Slovakia for the day on Monday and will add another four stoppage days next month in response to weak demand across Europe, the Slovak unit said.
The carmaker operates an assembly plant in the western Slovak town of Trnava, where it makes the Peugeot 207 and Citroen C3 Picasso models. PSA still expects production in Slovakia this year to exceed the 2012 output of almost 215,000 cars.
"Demand for new cars in Europe is continuously falling. Decreasing trends in sales transform into production cuts by several carmakers," PSA Slovakia said in a statement.
The Trnava plant has an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
The eurozone country's automotive industry is centered around the assembly plants of Volkswagen, Kia and PSA. Any production disruption in the sector could have a significant impact on the economy's performance, expected by the finance ministry to slow its expansion to 2.1 percent in 2013 from 2.5 percent last year on waning demand for its exports.
PSA, like many mass-market manufacturers, has been particularly badly hit by falling sales in the austerity-hit markets of Europe. In response, the carmaker is cutting some 10,000 jobs and closing a plant in France.
PSA's deliveries in EU and EFTA countries fell 12.9 percent in 2012 to 1.46 million cars, outpacing an overall market drop of 7.8 percent to 12.5 million, according to data from the industry organization ACEA.
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report
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