It’s been decades since we last saw a Peugeot or Citroen presence in the U.S. All that could change soon because Peugeot has been angling for a possible return to North America in the coming years. No specific plans have been laid out, but Peugeot CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato remains bullish on the idea of seeing the French carmaker return to a market it hasn’t been in since 1991.

Speaking with AutoRAI, Imparato sounded confident that Peugeot’s planned return to the U.S. is more imminent than most people think. The only question at this point is whether Peugeot will be the first PSA brand to enter the market. Translated from Dutch, Imparato’s indicated that “Peugeot will be back one day, but (Groupe PSA) has not decided what brand is the first to enter the US market.”

The absence of a specific timetable isn’t concerning because a lot of us have waited years for either Peugeot or Citroen to make its way back to the U.S. For as long as Peugeot has been absent in the market, Citroen has actually been out of the U.S. longer, fleeing the market in 1974, and never heard from since. We can wait for their return.

For its part, PSA has taken small steps laying the foundation for its return. Last year, the French auto conglomerate hired Nissan and TrueCar executive Larry Dominique to serve as Senior Vice President of PSA North America. The fact that there’s even a PSA North America speaks to the serious intent of the French company to return to the U.S. In the interim, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done before we get to see any of the three PSA brands in the country, including which of the three companies will arrive first.

Earlier rumors pointed to DS being that brand, while separate reports hinted that PSA’s initial presence in the U.S. will fall under the scope Free2Move, a car-sharing service that’s currently available in Europe and specific cities in the U.S. In the event Free2Move starts offering PSA models in the U.S.,it would get the automaker back into the country without the burden of building a full sales network from the start.

Eventually, PSA’s goal is to bring its brands back in the U.S, even if it’s going to take some time to do it. "This is a 10-year project,” Dominique told Automotive News last year. “It’s not about jumping in and creating market share as quickly as possible.”

References

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