Peugeot Sochaux in full swing .

Assembly line in the 308 PSA Sochaux.Keywords: autromobile, Sochaux, Vincent Rambaud, Peugeot.

 A year after a difficult period of unemployment, the plant takes advantage of historical success of new models. But the consequences of the crisis in the euro concern.
Built in 1912, the Peugeot factory at Sochaux was all the adventures of the car and survived all the crises. Paradoxically, while PSA has installed modern sites in Eastern Europe, there has never been as dependent on its place of production history, situated in Montbeliard. Here Peugeot began manufacturing saw blades and agricultural tools, there are two hundred years. Visiting Sochaux last week to celebrate this anniversary, Vincent Rambaud, the new Director General of the Lion, went straight to the local plant manager at the end of his press conference. "Give us the 3008 and 5008!" Did he almost begged.
The site was working fine on Saturdays from April 2009 and create a night shift in October, "today we do not have enough vehicles to meet demand," admits Vincent Rambaud. Extended until the summer, the night shift, which employs 800 people, has "a good chance to continue until the end of the year," said he.
While sales of small cars slow down with the end of car scrapping of Europe are so 3008, a crossover (mixture of 4 × 4 and Sedan) launched in April 2009, and 5008, a minivan sold in November , which currently enjoy the growth of Peugeot. Sochaux factory 900 per day, against an initial forecast of 600. In late March 2010, the manufacturer had sold 79,000 copies of 3008 in Europe. With 25,000 sales in five months, the 5008 "has started more slowly, but is now finding its place," according to Peugeot.
The bet is not won yet appeared in advance for relatively expensive vehicles (from 21,350 to more than 30,000 euros) and not really supported by the environmental bonus and car scrapping. This success brings a breath of oxygen to the mark, which was absent from a segment family kept mostly to Citroen. He also does well in Sochaux. The site was closed one month in late 2008, as inventories of cars piled up on his car, before being crippled by partial unemployment in the first quarter. "The 3008 came at the right time, at the height of the crisis," recalls Jean-Philippe Jombart, the plant manager, much more relaxed than a year ago in his office where we see the football stadium of the city, also owned by the Peugeot family.
Sochaux, which also assembles the 308, is one of the few sites whose activity of PSA is now above its level before the crisis. It plans to manufacture over 350,000 vehicles in 2010 (against 275,000 last year), which would make it again the first group's factory in France and it would rival that of Vigo, Spain, the largest PSA Europe.

Urgency:
Jean-Philippe Jombart feels "lucky". The other plant in the region, Mulhouse, just delete his night shift to accommodate the lull in demand for its small 206 +. But if Sochaux breathe, uncertainties remain. "Nobody knows what will be the impact of the crisis of the euro and the austerity policies on automobile markets, said Jean-Philippe Jombart. We feel an urgency: As the demand is there for the 3008 and 5008, we must produce as much as possible! "The group anticipates a decline in car sales in Europe of 9% in 2010.
Since January, only external factors have slowed the pace at Sochaux. After the snow this winter, then the volcanic cloud - which had crippled the air supply of a motor component - the threat comes from small subcontractors. "They've gone from a period where the activity stopped abruptly at a very rapid recovery. Some, whose cash flow is tight, find it difficult to follow, "said Jean-Philippe Jombart. In case of risk to production, workers should call a hotline in the morning as to whether to go to the factory.
The teams get ready to work again on Saturday in June after it being restricted until March. For some, these extra days are days off in compensation last year, which had been paid 100%. For others, they represent an additional income, says management. The CGT denounced the "very high workloads, resulting in cases of burnout. "We're not going to complain, because before, it was idle much. This proves that the new models are selling well. Yet, last year, we had questions because they are big vehicles, "explains Fabrice Patois, the controller assembly line. But it is true that it is complicated for custody of children, especially my wife works on Saturdays. "
The site, which totaled more than 40,000 employees in 1979, reckons more than 12,000, plus nearly 1,670 temporary and 200 CDD. "The company employs too precarious employment, which must always be formed. We ask the Commission hiring 1,000 people, "insists Bruno Lemerle, delegate of the CGT.

Citroën Sochaux:
Crisis or not, Sochaux intends to extend the current momentum. The site will begin producing hybrid diesel-3008 early next year. The "Peuge" will also, for the first time in its history, building a Citroen in 2011. This is the DS5, which will complement the range of luxury manufacturer to the rafters, after the current DS3, produced at Poissy. The DS4 will she made in Mulhouse. In the region of origin of the Peugeot family, the news did not cause a stir. "If it gives us a job, the better! Anyway, the 5008, half the parts come from C4 Picasso ... "exclaims Alex Metery, who works in the factory for seven years. "And then, Citroen, it stays in the family, says Fabrice Patois. It's not like we had a Renault! ".