PSA Launches Output of Revamped C4 Picasso in Spain

MADRID – Production of the redesigned 5-seat Citroen C4 Picasso multipurpose vehicle is under way at embattled French auto maker PSA Peugeot Citroen’s plant near Vigo harbor in northwest Spain.

The Vigo plant is the sole source of the model and already has ended output of the previous-generation C4 Picasso, which hit the market in 2007. Production of the current Grand C4 Picasso 7-seater will end this month when output of the new version of the larger model launches.

Vigo now assembles 1,750 cars daily, far below its installed capacity of 2,300. However, the plant is building the Citroen C-Elysee and Peugeot 301 on its No.1 line at a maximum rate of 60 per hour.

“The No.1 system is working at full capacity, with three work shifts per day and seven days per week,” Plant Manager Juan A. Munoz says. “It is a historic record.”

On the No.2 line, where the new C4 Picasso is being built, output is scheduled to jump from the current 28 units per hour to 40 hourly in October.

Plant sources say production of the new C4 Picasso could reach 70,000-80,000 units between now and the end of 2013 and that the target for the first full year is 150,000, the line’s capacity. Overall the plant is forecasting output of 400,000 vehicles this year.

The new model is the first to use PSA’s Efficient Modular Platform 2 (EMP2), which combines composites, light steel and aluminum to reduce weight. The auto maker says the new C4 Picasso is 154 lbs. (70 kg) lighter than the outgoing model.