PSA Aulnay-sous-Bois Plant
| Company type | Automotive manufacturing plant |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | April 24, 1973 in Aulnay-sous-Bois, France |
| Defunct | October 25, 2013 |
| Fate | Closed |
| Headquarters | Aulnay-sous-Bois , France |
Area served | France |
| Products | Automobiles (Citroën DS, CX, AX, Saxo, C3; Peugeot 205, 106) |
Number of employees | 5,000 (2003) |
| Parent | PSA Group |
The PSA Aulnay-sous-Bois Plant was an important automotive production site located in France, manufacturing approximately 135,700 vehicles in the year 2011. This facility became part of the PSA Group in 1976 after Peugeot acquired a controlling interest in Citroën. Positioned on the northern outskirts of Paris at Aulnay-sous-Bois, it benefits from proximity to key highways A1, A3, and A104.
Commencing operations on 24 April 1973, the plant opened shortly before Citroën ended its collaboration with Fiat. Initially, it combined all stages of car production including manufacturing, painting, and assembly. Between 1979 and 2008, two assembly lines operated simultaneously alongside all supporting functions typical of a fully integrated automobile factory. Distinctive within PSA were two specialized units: an "Anti-pollution" division responsible for emission testing of new models (which closed in August 2012), and the "Citroën repository," founded in 2001 to store discontinued models—this was not accessible to the public as a museum.
History
Despite experiencing regular labor disputes, the plant achieved notable production benchmarks, reaching its six millionth vehicle in 2003. That same year marked its production peak with 447,575 cars manufactured and a workforce of roughly 5,000 employees, excluding temporary and subcontracted personnel.
Plans for shutting down the facility emerged in mid-2011 through union communications that management later verified. After a strike lasting four months in early 2013, PSA accelerated the closure timeline from 2014 to October 2013. The final automobile produced was a Citroën C3 on 25 October 2013, which was acquired by the "Citroën Héritage" association.
Products
The initial vehicles assembled at Aulnay were Citroën DS models, mainly as a pilot series for a "run-out" edition by 1973. The first major volume production involved the Citroën CX, manufactured between 1974 and 1989 with a total output of 1,012,733 units. Subsequently, the plant concentrated on smaller cars, producing three models that each exceeded one million units:
- 1986–1995: Citroën AX – 1,069,468 units
- 1996–2003: Citroën Saxo – 1,662,290 units
- 2001–2013: Citroën C3 – 1,625,665 units (up to 2008)
To compensate for capacity constraints concerning mechanically related Peugeot models, Aulnay also supported production of well-known vehicles such as the Peugeot 205 and 106. By the time operations ceased in 2013, the factory had produced a cumulative total of 8,568,391 automobiles.