Peugeot quietly exits tennis

[jm1980]

Last year, two high profile partnerships between Peugeot and tennis ended. First, of course, was the announcement that Peugeot would not renew their sponsorship of Novak Djokovic.

Some speculated this was due to Djokovic's stance on vaccinations, despite a Peugeot source stating “Peugeot has taken note of Mr. Djokovic’s statements and is glad that he has expressed himself” (source)

Djokovic was last seen wearing the Peugeot logo in Dubai last year. By Monte Carlo, it was gone.

The second was the French Open, which had worked with Peugeot since 1984. Instead, the tournament announced a 5-year deal with French rival Renault (source):

This follows Peugeot quietly dropping sponsored players in 2020 and 2021 - Berrettini, Zverev, Schwartzman, and Verdasco were among the casualties.

Carreno Busta was the last to go, last seen sporting the Peugeot logo to end the 2022 season, and starting 2023 without it:

In 2021, Peugeot also ended their partnership that started in 2016 after 5 years:

(archived partners page from 2020 and 2021)

 

[Clay lover]

Well they probably just didn't consider it a worthy investment anymore

 

[TheNachoMan]

No one will ever willingly drive a Peugeot, even if their idol tells them to.

 

[MeatTornado]

No one will ever willingly drive a Peugeot, even if their idol tells them to.

I'm going to be honest, this whole time I thought that was the name of a watch brand, not a car.

 

[Fabresque]

I'm going to be honest, this whole time I thought that was the name of a watch brand, not a car.

Yeah I'm in the same boat. Never even heard of them before Novak and others were being sponsored. I guess it’s a kind of luxury brand but I’ve never seen one person in the US or Europe drive one.

 

[jm1980]

Yeah I'm in the same boat. Never even heard of them before Novak and others were being sponsored. I guess it’s a kind of luxury brand but I’ve never seen one person in the US or Europe drive one.

Peugeot is not a luxury brand, they are like a French Kia

 

[Phoenix*]

Not that many car brands in tennis I feel. There's Kia, what else?

 

[jm1980]

Not that many car brands in tennis I feel. There's Kia, what else?

Off the top of my head:

Cadillac now sponsors the US Open
Mercedes Benz sponsors a few players, but they did cut Stuttgart (formerly the Mercedes Cup) and the USO last year
BMW sponsors Munich, and some tennis players
Renault is now partners with the French Open

 

[Crocodile]

I know you guys in the US don’t always have a Peugeot importer.
In Australia we have had them most of the time. The 1960’s up to the late 1980’s they were quite popular here because they were rugged, rear wheel drive and reliable with models such as the 504 and 505 and then they switched front wheel drive with the 405, 406 407 and two generations of 508’s. They did and do have other models including the beautiful 406 coupe and RCZ coupe, plus some smaller cars and SUV, but during the 407 period they suffered pretty badly with electrical problems and they were nowhere as near as reliable as anything coming from Japan so they lost a bit of popularity along with Citroen and Renault all having reliability issues.
Now in 2023 Peugeot has opted to buy some Toyota parts such as the Aisin automatic gearboxes which has made the cars somewhat more reliable again. The current 508 is a beautiful car with a light body and lovely styling but people aren’t buying them like they used to. It’s very hard to recover once people turn away from your brand and move on. Here in Australia people are buying Kia, Hyundai, Mazda and Toyota and from the Euros it’s BMW,
Renault meanwhile is still currently in a 3 way merger with Nissan and Mitsubishi and while Mitsubishi is doing OK, Nissan has declined badly in the last decade and Renault sort from the Clio and Magane are not doing that well either. Nisssn is optimistic that they may have turned the corner with the beautiful new Z car but production output has been held up.
I think Peugeot are currently restructuring their finances and the realities with the Stellantis group and hope to improve their reliability and do things like re enter F1 in 2026, so in the meantime probably tennis has to go,

 

[aldeayeah]

I know you guys in the US don’t always have a Peugeot importer.
In Australia we have had them most of the time. The 1960’s up to the late 1980’s they were quite popular here because they were rugged, rear wheel drive and reliable with models such as the 504 and 505 and then they switched front wheel drive with the 405, 406 407 and two generations of 508’s. They did and do have other models including the beautiful 406 coupe and RCZ coupe, plus some smaller cars and SUV, but during the 407 period they suffered pretty badly with electrical problems and they were nowhere as near as reliable as anything coming from Japan so they lost a bit of popularity along with Citroen and Renault all having reliability issues.
Now in 2023 Peugeot has opted to buy some Toyota parts such as the Aisin automatic gearboxes which has made the cars somewhat more reliable again. The current 508 is a beautiful car with a light body and lovely styling but people aren’t buying them like they used to. It’s very hard to recover once people turn away from your brand and move on. Here in Australia people are buying Kia, Hyundai, Mazda and Toyota and from the Euros it’s BMW,
Renault meanwhile is still currently in a 3 way merger with Nissan and Mitsubishi and while Mitsubishi is doing OK, Nissan has declined badly in the last decade and Renault sort from the Clio and Magane are not doing that well either. Nisssn is optimistic that they may have turned the corner with the beautiful new Z car but production output has been held up.
I think Peugeot are currently restructuring their finances and the realities with the Stellantis group and hope to improve their reliability and do things like re enter F1 in 2026, so in the meantime probably tennis has to go,

How can you talk about Peugeot and not mention the 205 smh. That car was the definition of rugged, still a common sight in Spain and it was discontinued in early 90s

They had a few rough years in the mid 00s to mid 10s with some ugly, unreliable crap cars. They're mostly back to form these days. I've only driven stick ones though, auto gearbox is minoritary here.

I currently drive a second gen 308. It's a nice little car although I'll be the first to admit the price was the main reason I got it (that and good experiences with my dad's 205 and my mom's 206)

French auto makers and electrical issues really are an iconic duo. Renault in particular.

 

[Rosstour]

I'm going to be honest, this whole time I thought that was the name of a watch brand, not a car.

Piaget
Audemars Piguet
Reasonable mistake

 

[kevin qmto]

Most of you (Americans) people are old enough that you should remember that Peugeot actually sold cars in the US in the 80s. Maybe I’m just a car geek that I know that.

 

[atatu]

Most of you (Americans) people are old enough that you should remember that Peugeot actually sold cars in the US in the 80s. Maybe I’m just a car geek that I know that.

Yes there were Peugeots around back in the day, my girlfriend in the late 80's drove a Saab and I thought that was the coolest car. I actually had a Peugeot road bicycle that I loved.

 

[aldeayeah]

I had a Peugeot road bicycle that I loved.

My big brother too, I never got to ride it though because he trashed it in rough mountain paths

 

[jm1980]

Yes there were Peugeots around back in the day, my girlfriend in the late 80's drove a Saab and I thought that was the coolest car. I actually had a Peugeot road bicycle that I loved.

I have a Peugeot pepper grinder. I was surprised to find out they were founded by the same people

The Brand

Peugeot is one of the most iconic French brands with a strong tradition of exceptional quality and innovation. Peugeot spice mills appear in home kitchens all over the world as well as on many of the greatest chefs’ tables and the history behind them is extraordinary. In the 19th century, Peugeot

us.peugeot-saveurs.com

 

[jm1980]

I'm going to be honest, this whole time I thought that was the name of a watch brand, not a car.

Djokovic was previously had a watch sponsor in Seiko...

He is now sponsored by Hublot, the brand every watch enthusiast loves to hate

 

[JJGUY]

well I am familiar with Peugeot and its sister brand Citroën from the same parent company PSA, but both are in the decline since 1990s. And in 2021, PSA merged with Fiat/Chrysler to form a new mega corp. Stellantis, the timeline matched here, after the merge, Peugeot exited the sponsorship deals, I don't blame them, Stellantis has more profitable brands like Fiat, Jeep and Chrysler etc in their portfolio, why waste money on dying brands?

 

[jm1980]

well I am familiar with Peugeot and its sister brand Citroën from the same parent company PSA, but both are in the decline since 1990s. And in 2021, PSA merged with Fiat/Chrysler to form a new mega corp. Stellantis, the timeline matched here, after the merge, Peugeot exited the sponsorship deals, I don't blame them, Stellantis has more profitable brands like Fiat, Jeep and Chrysler etc in their portfolio, why waste money on dying brands?

Fiat can't sell anywhere outside of Italy and Brazil, and even in those markets they were losing market share

In 2022, Fiat dropped to 13.6% market share in Italy, its lowest ever

 

[JJGUY]

Fiat can't sell anywhere outside of Italy and Brazil, and even in those markets they were losing market share

lol, two countries, that sounds a lot, where is the market for Peugeot, France? PSA has plants in other countries like China but the cars are sold under different names, not Peugeot or Citroën.

 

[HFK]

Peugeot was only relevant when they sponsored Djokovic. They're now a failing brand. Sad.

 

[weakera]

If I was a tennis player I would want to play wearing Adidas and an Omega with a Babolat stick

 

[jm1980]

lol, two countries, that sounds a lot, where is the market for Peugeot, France? PSA has plants in other countries like China but the cars are sold under different names, not Peugeot or Citroën.

Those are the two countries where the Fiat brand has a significant market share. I don't know of any others

Stellantis is also in deep trouble China and may be pulling out of that market entirely:

Stellantis Jeep joint venture in China to file for bankruptcy

The joint venture that makes Jeeps in China will file for bankruptcy, partners Stellantis and Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) said on Monday, after a long decline for the oldest foreign auto brand in the world's largest car market.

www.reuters.com

 

[jm1980]

Peugeot was only relevant when they sponsored Djokovic. They're now a failing brand. Sad.

They sponsored a number of tennis players other than Djokovic, the British LTA (2016-2018), Roland Garros (1984-2021), and the ATP itself (2016-2020)

After dropping Carreno Busta, they are now out of tennis entirely, as far as I can tell

 

[Omega_7000]

More sponsors will drop tennis. There hasn't been exciting young talent for more than a decade.

 

[HFK]

He is now sponsored by Hublot, the brand every watch enthusiast loves to hate

Hublot is the most prestigious watch brand in the world and they're lucky they have Djokovic. He didn't want to be sponsored by RM or AP anyway.

 

[jm1980]

Hublot is the most prestigious watch brand in the world and they're lucky they have Djokovic. He didn't want to be sponsored by RM or AP anyway.

Hublot gets a lot of undeserved flak so it's kind of fitting that they have Djokovic

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I remember when the dream was to drive round town in a 206.

 

[HFK]

I remember when the dream was to drive round town in a 206.

Your post has a typo

 

[JJGUY]

Those are the two countries where Fiat has a significant market share. I don't know of any others

Stellantis is also in deep trouble China and may be pulling out of that market entirely:

Stellantis Jeep joint venture in China to file for bankruptcy

The joint venture that makes Jeeps in China will file for bankruptcy, partners Stellantis and Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) said on Monday, after a long decline for the oldest foreign auto brand in the world's largest car market.

www.reuters.com

That was actually from Fiat/Chrysler, not PSA group. PSA has two plants in China and they were very profitable in 2000s. In fact, DongFeng Peugeot, the Chinese joint venture in Hubei saved its parent company PSA from bankruptcy in 2014. DongFeng group injected
funds to PSA and became an equal shareholder of PSA. After the merge in 2021, DongFeng sold back its share, they are no longer a big partner in the Stellantis group.

 

[jm1980]

That was actually from Fiat/Chrysler, not PSA group. PSA has two plants in China and they were very profitable in 2000s. In fact, DongFeng Peugeot, the Chinese joint venture in Hubei saved its parent company PSA from bankruptcy in 2014. DongFeng group injected
funds to PSA and became an equal shareholder of PSA. After the merge in 2021, DongFeng sold back its share, they are no longer a big partner in the Stellantis group.

This article from 2019 says Dongfeng-PSA also were in trouble:

PSA’s deep China problems go back even further, spanning four years of plunging sales and 400 million euros ($450 million) written off its DPCA stake, which is now valued at 500 million euros.

Its sales in the country shrunk almost threefold to 251,700 vehicles last year from a 2014 peak of 731,000.

Exclusive: PSA, Dongfeng to drop two China auto plants, halve workforce - document

Peugeot maker PSA Group <PEUP.PA> and partner Dongfeng Group <0489.HK> have agreed to cut thousands of jobs in China and drop two of their four shared assembly plants, according to a document seen by Reuters, in a last-ditch bid to curb mounting losses as the world's largest...

www.reuters.com

 

[tennis_pro]

They know were slowly entering a joke era in tennis. Who would want to invest in that?

 

[LaVie en Rose]

If it's not some internal joke, I find it hard to believe that some Americans never heard of Peugeot , considering company history dates back to late 19th Ct. Peugeot is basically
pioneer in automotive industry. Well, I guess World is big.

OP, I knew , read it before 2022 that they were withdrawing from tennis. There was news that they didn't renew contract with Roland Garros
Ben Rottenberg ,the irony that journalist can't bother to research such simple thing having it as subject of his writing, didn't, and was crying happy tears when Djokovic expiring contract with Peugeot didn't renew.What a tool!

 

[hoodjem]

If it's not some internal joke, I find it hard to believe that some Americans never heard of Peugeot , considering company history dates back to late 19th Ct. Peugeot is basically pioneer in automotive industry. Well, I guess World is big.

A good friend of mine in the US had one back in the late 80s.

 

[adil1972]

Will you attend tennis exhibition in person

If let's say between fed and no name player.

For the record I will not

 

[tex123]

Why are we talking about sponsors?

 

[Krish872007]

Peugeot is definitely not a luxury brand lol - but it's functional

 

[junior74]

Former sponsor section, please

 

[clayqueen]

They couldn't sign the main man, the Great Rafael Nadal, who has stayed loyal to KIA since he was a teenager.

 

[JJGUY]

This article from 2019 says Dongfeng-PSA also were in trouble:

PSA’s deep China problems go back even further, spanning four years of plunging sales and 400 million euros ($450 million) written off its DPCA stake, which is now valued at 500 million euros.

Its sales in the country shrunk almost threefold to 251,700 vehicles last year from a 2014 peak of 731,000.

Exclusive: PSA, Dongfeng to drop two China auto plants, halve workforce - document

Peugeot maker PSA Group <PEUP.PA> and partner Dongfeng Group <0489.HK> have agreed to cut thousands of jobs in China and drop two of their four shared assembly plants, according to a document seen by Reuters, in a last-ditch bid to curb mounting losses as the world's largest...

www.reuters.com

this is really not surprising, in China it's all about EV, the car talks are Tesla, BYD and Elon Musk, everyone else is pushed to the corner!
But to be fair, Dongfeng enjoyed a resurgence in the last 24 months, they are in a much better shape than 4 years ago.

 

[JJGUY]

They couldn't sign the main man, the Great Rafael Nadal, who has stayed loyal to KIA since he was a teenager.

I am actually very surprised bout this sponsorship deal, can't he find better cars to pitch? If not Mercedes or BMW, how about Lexus, Toyota, or Honda, but seriously KIA? at least Hyundai!

 

[Deleted member 629564]

Peugeot just realized that tennis is done when Roger retires.

 

[LaVie en Rose]

Former sponsor section, please

LOL nice joke. If only fans of certain retiree not tennis would take this advice and leave General PPD

Peugeot is definitely not a luxury brand lol - but it's functional

So only luxury brands should sponsor tennis,like watch (the irony)company telling NUMBERS don’t matter for sheep to swallow

 

[Krish872007]

LOL nice joke. If only fans of certain retiree not tennis would take this advice and leave General PPD

So only luxury brands should sponsor tennis,like watch (the irony)company telling NUMBERS don’t matter for sheep to swallow

You're putting words in my mouth - where did I say anything about who should and shouldn't sponsor tennis, or indeed other sports?
I was trying to quote Fabresque who said "I guess it’s a kind of luxury brand but I’ve never seen one " - my mistake, I did not quote properly

Next time maybe think about the context before going off at me

 

[LaVie en Rose]

You're putting words in my mouth - where did I say anything about who should and shouldn't sponsor tennis, or indeed other sports?
I was trying to quote Fabresque who said "I guess it’s a kind of luxury brand but I’ve never seen one " - my mistake, I did not quote properly

Next time maybe think about the context before going off at me

It was joke

 

[Krish872007]

It was joke

Sorry my bad then, I took it seriously
A fatal mistake on TTW

 

[LaVie en Rose]

Sorry my bad then, I took it seriously
A fatal mistake on TTW

My apologies,should have put smiley

 

[Sudacafan]

No one will ever willingly drive a Peugeot, even if their idol tells them to.

My father owned a green Peugeot 504 between 1970 and 1975. It caused a lot of trouble, so he sold it.

 

[Sephiroth]

My father owned a green Peugeot 504 between 1970 and 1975. It caused a lot of trouble, so he sold it.

Was your father's Peugeot a chick magnet?

 

[Sudacafan]

Was your father's Peugeot a chick magnet?

I don’t think so. When he bought it he was married with children. I was 5 years old, and my brother was 2.

 

[mehdimike]

I remember when the dream was to drive round town in a 206.

Which is currently probably the most common car used in our country