Peugeot and Citroën are ready for yet another comeback in the South African market, this time under turnaround specialist Xavier Gobille.

Gobille is the former Nissan South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa marketing, sales and aftersales MD. It was, however, his 2008 appointment at the then-struggling Renault South Africa that earned him the reputation as a Mister Fix-it.

By his own admission, the Frenchman can be “pretty ruthless”, accepting nothing “but the best”.

Moving on from Nissan to start his own company, the Peak Africa Solutions CEO’s first client – Groupe PSA – morphed into his next big challenge as a diagnostic of Peugeot’s flailing performance in the domestic market saw him roped in to become the French car maker’s new South African boss.

In its heyday, in 1973, Peugeot sold 17 000 vehicles in South Africa.

However, Peugeot withdrew from South Africa in 1985 owing to political reasons, returning in 1995, with McCarthy appointed as brand distributor.

The French manufacturer returned through a direct ownership model in 2002 to establish Peugeot Motors South Africa.

In 2016, it stopped Citroën sales, owing to dwindling numbers.

In 2017 the car maker sold 51% of its shares in Peugeot Citroën South Africa (PCSA) to Japanese vehicle distributor and retailer VT Holdings in a deal that aimed to strengthen the local profile of the Peugeot brand, with Francisco Gaie appointed as MD.

This move proved almost fatal to the brand.

Now, Peugeot is “back in the race”, having again returned to South Africa, with PCSA 100% owned by parent company Groupe PSA.

The local business faces an uphill battle, however, with a fairly large number of unhappy Peugeot and Citroën owners, as well as rather dismal sales numbers.

The South African new-vehicle market also finds itself in a tough spot, with a strong buying-down trend evident as consumers struggle to navigate a weak economy.

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Peugeot sales bled from 4 011 units in 2013, down to 847 units in 2017, recovering marginally to 1 115 units in 2018.

Gobille is aiming for 2.5% market share by 2021, up from the roughly 0.2% of 2018.

For 2019, he is seeking sales of more than 2 000 units.

Gobille believes PCSA sales can, over time, increase by “twenty times – more even”.

“If we, eventually, get 5% market share I would consider this a failure. This would be around 30 000 units a year.”

Gobille bases this on the fact that Groupe PSA has an 18% market share in Europe, while it is also number one in the popular sports-utility vehicle (SUV) market on this continent.

Gobille says he is staging an all-out brand recovery on all fronts: creating a new enabling organisation; developing a strong dealer network; improving customer relationship management, marketing efficiency and product enhancement, and improving aftersales efficiency.

In dissecting the failures of the past, he believes PCSA lacked the aptitude and attitude to succeed in South Africa’s competitive car market, with a lack of expertise, as well as a willingness to compromise on customer satisfaction largely to blame for the sharp sales decline.

An all-out product assault will also see the return of Citroën to South Africa in October.

In fact, Gobille has his sights on selling four of the PSA brands in South Africa, with Groupe PSA the owner of Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Opel.

PSA acquired the latter, German brand from General Motors in 2017.

Opel’s distribution currently belongs to dealership group Unitrans, which is up for sale, leaving the brand in somewhat of a limbo.

New products already on the market include the Peugeot 108 small car, and the Peugeot 5008 SUV, which will act as the brand halo.

These vehicles are sold with a five-year/100 000 km warranty and service plan.

A pick-up is also in the pipeline, promises Gobille.

There are currently 25 Peugeot dealers, with the aim to have 30 by the end of the year, and 80 in the long run.

“I’ve cancelled 30% of the network to build a new one,” says Gobille. “We had a big problem with a lot of the dealerships. They were not at the right level.”

He believes PCSA dealers have much to look forward too, as they would move from selling one brand – Peugeot – to four brands, which should significantly increase their profitability.