PSA's new U.S. chief, Larry Dominique previously served as top U.S. product planner at Nissan.
Groupe PSA, the ambitious French carmaker that purchased GM Europe, selected Atlanta as the site of its new North American headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
The headquarters will be operational this month. A core team has already been set up to build the strategy and steer its execution. The decision to locate in Atlanta came after a yearlong, nationwide search to find the optimal balance of business environment, standard of living and workforce.
“We looked at every aspect of the Atlanta community and found it to be the most suitable location for us,” said Larry Dominique, president of PSA North America.
“While the overall business environment, standard of living and university system played an important part in our decision, our unique needs in terms of technology, mobility innovation and car culture ultimately identified Atlanta as our perfect choice,” Dominque said.
(PSA lays out three-stage plan for return to the United States. Click Here for the story.)
Mercedes Benz moved its North American headquarters to Atlanta from New Jersey a couple of years back. Mercedes Benz is scheduled to move into the new building that will be its permanent home in Atlanta. The North American headquarters for Porsche also is based in Atlanta next the city’s busy airport, making the region a major draw for companies around the world.
“We’re thrilled that Groupe PSA – the second=largest carmaker in Europe and one of the top mobility providers in the world – has picked Atlanta as its new North American home” said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.
“Groupe PSA joins a growing family of automotive manufacturers and suppliers operating here in Georgia. This announcement is a great win for our state and yet another testament to the strength of our business environment and infrastructure.”
(Click Here for details about GM completing the sale of Opel/Vauxhall to PSA Group.)
The selection of Atlanta as the site of the North American headquarters is only latest step of its 10-year plan for a progressive entry into the North American market. Those plans also include an expansion its staff as the company grows into broader fields of the rapidly changing mobility business
Groupe PSA announced last year that it is returning to the U.S. market in three phases outlined in the Push to Pass strategic plan by offering mobility services at first, the mobility services with Groupe PSA’s vehicles then and finally retail sales.
The first step has been already initiated with Free2Move aggregation platform launched in October 2017 in before rolling into other cities in the coming months. The application allows users to choose between a wide range of car, scooter and bike sharing transportation services.
(For more on the sale of Opel, Click Here.)
PSA also acquired General Motors European operations in Europe last year as part of its strategy to expand globally on elevate its presence within the global automotive industry.