Employees in DPCA's uniform pose with the firm's 6,230,000th car to celebrate its 30th anniversary. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]
May 18 marked the 30th anniversary of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co (DPCA) based in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ). The company's 6,230,000th car rolled off the production line that same day.
A light show is staged on the dome of the Wuhan Sports Center to celebrate the 30th anniversary of DPCA. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]
On the night of May 16, a series of light shows were staged at the Wuhan Sports Center and other iconic landmarks of WEDZ to celebrate its unusual bond with DPCA spanning 30 years.
The company was established in Zhuankou in WEDZ in 1992 by Dongfeng Motor Co and France-based Groupe PSA as China's fourth car manufacturing joint venture, and has rendered its products and services to more than 6.2 million families.
The company's first production model was Citroen Fukang, which enjoyed popularity along with Jetta and Santana in the 1990s. Having one of these three vehicles used to be a dream of most Chinese families. The first batch of Citroen Fukang cars was churned out in WEDZ in 1995.
Despite uncertainties resulting from the auto chip crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, DPCA has maintained 17 months of positive growth and has enjoyed sales growth of 58 percent year-on-year over the past four months of 2022.
On March 28, the Dongfeng Fukang ES600 – the company's third pure electric production model – was launched as a prelude to DPCA's new energy transformation.
DPCA's success would not have been possible without WEDZ, which was established in 1991, a year earlier than DPCA. The zone has been one of China's largest car-making hubs, and is home to nine renowned whole-car manufacturers and more than 500 auto part suppliers in an area of less than 500 square meters. Over 20,000 enterprises have settled along the 13-kilometer-long Dongfeng Avenue, generating over 340 billion yuan ($50.18 billion) in annual output.
