Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles (DPCA), the China-based joint venture between PSA Peugeot Citroën and Dongfeng Group (DFG), has started series production of the Fengshen L60, its first own-brand car.

Production began on March 2 at DPCA’s Wuhan 1 plant in China and is an important part of the company’s plan to sell 1.5 million cars in China and the ASEAN region in 2020. In 2014, DPCA sold 704,000 cars in China, an increase of 28 percent on 2013.

The first car to carry the DPCA brand, the Dongfeng Fengshen L60 is a budget C-segment sedan developed by DPCA and DFG with technical support from PSA Peugeot Citroën. DPCA was responsible for managing the project, developing the model, procuring parts and components and performing process engineering.

The Dongfeng Fengshen L60 will be sold in China from spring 2015 through the Fengshen brand network. Based on the extended variant of the PSA PF2 platform (which also underpinned the previous generation Peugeot 408 sedan), the L60 is offered with two PSA-sourced engines, a 1.6-liter with 115hp and a 1.8-liter with 137hp, both mated to a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic.

“Starting production of the Fengshen L60, our first own-brand car, is a milestone in the cooperation between DFG and PSA,” said Jean Mouro, Executive Vice President of DPCA.

DPCA also announced the creation of a new company, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën International (DPCI), which will take charge of distribution and services for the Peugeot, Citroën and Fengshen brands in the ASEAN countries.

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