Linda Jackson, formerly the CEO of Citroen, has taken on that role at Peugeot after the creation of Stellantis in January 2021. The brand was PSA Group’s European flagship, with growing sales and pricing power thanks to a lineup switch to SUVs from minivans in the mid-2010s. Jackson’s challenge is to maintain that strength in Europe but grow in the rest of the world, now that a move to North America is off the table. She spoke to Automotive News Europe Editor and Associate Publisher Luca Ciferri and News Editor Peter Sigal about expansion, electrification and the chip shortage.
You have been CEO of Peugeot for less than a year after moving from Citroen, and then some time working on the Stellantis integration. What have you learned about the brand?
I'm inheriting a healthy brand. It was No. 2 in Europe at the end of August [and at the end of October]. So, it is a solid brand, with good results in Europe, with a strong product portfolio and a coherent strategy. But there's always something that we can improve on, or that we think is a real opportunity. For Peugeot, that’s to become more international.
Where do you see potential for growth?
There are three major areas where we can grow in the short and midterm. The first one is South America; the second is the Middle East and Africa; and the third is China. I think we will succeed because we have a global brand and a global product portfolio. For example, the 208 that you see in Europe will be a major part of our growth in South America. But we have also developed a couple of specific products for those regions, such as the Landtrek Pickup. It’s been developed specifically for markets such as South America and Middle East/Africa, where the pickup market is quite large.