French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen has started series production of the Peugeot 208 at the Porto Real facility in Brazil.
The group had invested €305m to expand the facility in order to increase the plants production capacity from 150,000 vehicles to 200,000 vehicles per year.
PSA Peugeot Citroen managing board chairman Philippe Varin said: "Brazil is a key market, as well as a key focus of our international expansion strategy, which is well underway."
PSA Peugeot Citroen Latin America senior vice president Carlos Gomes said: "Our Brazilian R&D and design teams did extensive work to integrate and adapt the Peugeot 208 so we can respond as effectively as possible to customer expectations."
The firm aims its non-European sales to reach 50% by 2015.
The Peugeot 208 will be equipped with the flex-fuel engines to comply with local driving conditions in Latin America, while it is also produced at Group plants in Poissy, Mulhouse in France and Trnava in Slovakia.
