PSA Peugeot, and their joint venture with China’s Dongfeng, are planning to export cars made in China to Russia, said Gregoire Olivier, Peugeot-Citroen’s recently appointed head of Asian operations,  to The Beijing News via Gasgoo.

PSA wants to sell cars made at the Chinese JV in other regions of Asia and Russia as early as next year, said Olivier. The only thing that’s keeping them from doing it right now is the lack of a logistics platform. But they are building that in Shanghai as we speak, and it should be up and running next year.

Because Olivier was recently appointed, he may have missed various memos, and will be forgiven. Here a quick update:

• Russia does not want any imported cars. Especially not from China. Vladimir Putin has issued a “build in mother Russia, or else” ultimatum. The import duty for new cars, currently at 30 percent, will be raised “step by step.” Even a made in China car will become expensive in Russia.
• It may not be wise to encourage exports of joint venture cars made in China to other parts of the world. Currently, most JV contracts expressly prohibit this. China and Chinese JV partners on the other hand will eagerly rise to the occasion. These cars are perfectly exportable, crash-tested, certified, and come with a reputable brand.