An Tiecheng, chairman of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile, has left amid slumping sales at the joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Group and PSA Peugeot Citroen.
An, 56, joined China Automotive Technology and Research Co. as chairman and president, the state-owned automotive technology research institute said on its website Tuesday.
Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen hasn’t named An’s successor.
An started his automotive career at China FAW Group in 1984. From 2004 to 2013, he was president of FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co., FAW’s joint venture with VW Group. Over the next four years, he was head of FAW’s car unit.
In 2017, he was hired by Dongfeng as vice president in charge of its joint venture with PSA.
Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen, headquartered in the central China city of Wuhan, can produce up to 840,000 vehicles annually for the Peugeot and Citroen brands at full capacity.
After hitting a high of 700,000 in 2015, the partnership’s annual deliveries have dropped sharply. In 2018, sales slipped 33 percent to around 253,000 vehicles.
Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen’s sales slump has accelerated this year, with volume plunging 57 percent to 81,045 in the first eight months, according to Dongfeng.