Peugeot Citroen saw both of its main brands lose sales, with Peugeot sales falling 7.5% and Citroen down 13%.
That is the hope behind an alliance between PSA Peugeot Citroen and General Motors entered into early this year.
In July, PSA Peugeot Citroen announced the loss of 8, 000 jobs and a plan to close a factory in Aulnay, outside Paris.
Last week, Peugeot Citroen reported worldwide sales down 16.5% for 2012, which it blamed on "the crisis affecting the European automobile market".
French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen is also struggling amid Europe's economic downturn.
Therefore, automakers including Ford, General Motors and Peugeot Citroen, are not even able to recover their operating expenses and are piling on losses.
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Last week, France's Peugeot-Citroen reported a 16.5% fall in sales worldwide, blaming "the crisis affecting the European automobile market".
French automaker PSA, the parent of Peugeot and Citroen, and now a partner with GM, is facing its own crisis.
Besides, its brands Peugeot and Citroen remain reasonably popular with European customers, while GM's Opel and Vauxhall brands have been losing their lustre in recent years.
The French government has to keep a tight leash on its finances, unemployment is around 10 percent and its exporters are struggling, not least in the auto sector, with both Peugeot-Citroen and Renault struggling.
Not only have the Detroit companies retreated in the face of Japanese advances in the American domestic market but their European subsidiaries have also long been ceding share, as have such European players as Peugeot-Citroen, Volvo, Jaguar, and, of course, Renault.
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Yet nobody expects Peugeot back any time soon, nor sister company Citroen, which makes a distinct version of the 4007 called the C-Crosser.
The 34-year-old would love to mark his final event for Ford before he joins Citroen with a victory but expects fellow Brit Richard Burns to triumph in the Peugeot.
Citroen only needed six points to be sure of the manufacturers' title while rivals Peugeot needed a one-two to keep the fight alive going into the final round in Australia.
Peugeot are top of the manufacturers' standings with 72 points, ahead of Citroen on 68.
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