Case Study

Conquering America: Can Peugeot stage a successful return to the US?

19 pages
December 2020
Reference: IMD-7-2221

In 2016, French car manufacturer Peugeot announced its will to return to the US, one of the most competitive market in the world. Peugeot had previously attempted to conquer the US, but that effort failed: In 1991, after having sold a grand total of 4,261 cars in the whole country the year before, Peugeot left the US and remained away for 25 years. Now eager to stage a successful comeback in a market that only got even more fiercely competitive and in the midst of rapid changes affecting the industry, Peugeot needed to first figure out how to overcome its key competitive weakness, namely its lack of a distribution network. For Peugeot’s CEO, one question dominated all others: How should Peugeot fulfill its distribution needs in the US (defined as selling cars and providing maintenance), given that it did not have a distribution network?

Learning Objective
  • Learn to synthesize a complex strategic problem in the form of a key question and its context (a HTDQ sequence).
  • Identify alternative answers to the key question (options).
  • Recommend the best option based on an evidence-based analysis of what is important to the key stakeholders.
  • Identify how to turn a fundamental strategic weakness—the lack of a dealership network—into a competitive advantage.
Keywords
Car, Market Entry, Market Entry Strategy, Retail
Settings
United States of America
Groupe PSA, Automotive
2014-2020
Type
Field Research
Copyright
© 2020
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note
Case clearing houses
IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Discover our latest research
IMD's faculty and research teams publish articles, case studies, books and reports on a wide range of topics