PSA Peugeot Citroen will launch its new mini-sized 207 car next week as it introduces new models to overcome sluggish sales in weak markets, a spokesman at the French firm said on Monday.
The 207 will be pitted against the Renault Clio, selected Car of the Year 2006.
Other "B segment" rivals are the Fiat Punto, Ford Fiesta, VW Polo, Opel Corsa and Citroen C3, with which PSA shares a common platform.
The B segment is one of the most hotly contested market areas, and some 3.5 million of these cars are sold each year, mainly to individuals.
French new car registrations were down 1.4 percent in December and rose 2.7 percent in 2005, with the Renault brand suffering falls of 14.7 percent for December and 4.5 percent for the full year, official data showed on Monday.
PSA Peugeot Citroen had a 1.1 percent decline in December and a 2.2 percent rise in 2005, boosted by a 5.7 percent increase in sales of the Citroen brand.
The 207 will be sold alongside the older 206 model and will be built at Poissy in France and later at Trnava in Slovakia where PSA is investing an additional 350 million euros ($414 million) to boost capacity by 150,000 from the planned 300,000.
The Trnava plant is set to start production later this year.
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