PSA — which makes Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel cars — has enough funds to cope with a halving in sales this year, the French carmaker said, as it warned of a plunge in demand due to the pandemic, and said it would try to avoid tapping state aid if possible.
The Peugeot owner has shuttered plants as governments enforce lockdowns.
Dealerships are also closed, grinding car sales to a halt. PSA, which also makes DS and Vauxhall vehicles, has not set a date to resume production, executives saying there was no point in adding to stock levels until vendors opened again.
PSA said 90% of its staff were on government-funded furlough or partial unemployment schemes, but has so far not resorted to other forms of state aid.
“We want the company to be as free as possible of public dependence,” financial chief Philippe de Rovira told analysts, adding PSA had not asked for government-guaranteed loans.
The company posted a 15.6% drop in first-quarter sales to €15.2bn, with lockdowns only affecting the final few weeks.
Analysts at Jefferies said PSA’s revenues had been more resilient than expected.