Peugeot Maker Says Ride-Sharing App a First Step in U.S. Return

(Bloomberg) -- PSA Group, the French maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS autos, is introducing its Free2Move ride-sharing app in Seattle, beginning an incremental push to re-enter the U.S. that could eventually culminate in PSA importing cars to the country.

“It's so crowded here, the last thing you want is a billion-euro investment and not selling enough cars,” PSA's North America chief Larry Dominique said in a phone interview, adding that it was “very likely” that any push by PSA to sell its cars in the U.S. would start with imported vehicles. “Initially the goal is to establish a footprint.”

The carmaker is introducing the Free2Move app to the West Coast city on Tuesday after a nationwide launch in Android and Apple stores in July that wasn't actively marketed -- the first step in a 10-year plan laid out last year to return to North America. The Free2Move app aggregates mobility services such as those of Daimler AG's Car2Go and Avis Budget Group Inc.'s Zipcar, allowing drivers to access all the car-sharing providers in the city with one tool.

“Our goal is to be a service provider for customers, and to do that you need to be open to working with everyone,” Dominique said.

Europe's second-largest auto manufacturer, which left the U.S. market in 1991, increased its exposure to its home continent with the recent acquisition of General Motors Co.'s European division. Adding the Opel and Vauxhall brands to its portfolio means that more than 70 percent of the company's sales now come from Europe. At the same time, PSA is struggling with slumping sales in the U.K. and China.

Bollore Venture Off

The Free2Move app is currently available in France, Spain, Germany, the U.K., Italy, Austria and Sweden, with 400,000 customers and about 30 mobility operators, the company said. In Seattle, it will progressively add bike-sharing services such as Ofo, a Chinese startup backed by Alibaba and Didi.

PSA created its North American unit in June under the leadership of Dominique, a former Nissan executive who has worked for TrueCar Inc., which provides prices and information for car shoppers. Dominique manages a team of 10 that may grow as the company seeks a city for its U.S. headquarters. 

For now, PSA is not participating in a car-sharing venture with Bollore SA in Los Angeles, Dominique said, after the companies previously announced plans to cooperate. A Paris-based spokeswoman for PSA said no decision has been made on a future Bollore partnership in Los Angeles. A Bollore spokesman declined to comment.

The automaker could eventually develop its own ride-hailing app, Dominique said. PSA already operates a car-sharing service in Madrid with Spanish company Estacionamientos y servicios, known as Eysa.

PSA says introducing mobility services is a way to test U.S. consumers' appetite for its brands. Its next generation of vehicles will meet U.S. safety and emission standards, according to Dominique.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ania Nussbaum in Paris at anussbaum5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tara Patel at tpatel2@bloomberg.net, Chris Reiter at creiter2@bloomberg.net, Frank Connelly, Anne Riley Moffat