PSA Peugeot Citroen has been given the go ahead to offer vehicle financing in China in partnership with Dongfeng Motor Group.

The new finance company is owned by Bank of China (50%), Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile - DPCA - (25%) and Banque PSA Finance (25%).

It will provide wholesale financing for Dongfeng Peugeot and Dongfeng Citroen dealers and retail financing for Chinese car buyers. Operations will begin in July in Beijing, before being extended throughout China.

In 2005, DPCA sales rose by 57.5% to 140,400 units from 89,100 in 2004, in a market that expanded by 24%. It expects to sell more than 200,000 vehicles in 2006.

To sustain this growth, three new models will be launched in 2006: the Peugeot 206 in March, the Citroen C-Triomphe in April and a new Citroën compact at the end of the year.