Part of the French automaker's new five-year plan for Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co. is to explore the idea of having its own brand, said Timothy Zimmerman, who is responsible for the Peugeot side of the venture.

Peugeot, which sells Peugeot and Citroen cars in China, already is planning a new passenger-car brand with its other Chinese partner, China Changan Automobile Group Co.

PSA CEO Philippe Varin is expanding in China and India to reduce dependence on western European markets. Paris-based Peugeot plans to sell 200,000 vehicles in China next year, up 30 percent from 2010.

By 2015, PSA expects its China sales will outstrip that of its home market in France, Zimmerman said. "Its a project that is just starting and we need to look and see if there is a place in the market for it and if it is a profitable type of product," Zimmerman said in the interview at a car show in Guangzhou, China.

In July, PSA signed an agreement in July to produce cars and light trucks with Changan in a 50-50 venture that will allow it to enter China's commercial vehicle market.

Peugeot is targeting a Chinese market share of 8 percent, up from 3 percent this year.

The French automaker is planning a third factory with Hubei-based Dongfeng to increase the venture's annual capacity to 750,000 vehicles in 2015 from 450,000.

Production is maxed out at the joint venture's existing plants in Wuhan that assemble the Peugeot 308, 408 and Citroen C5 mid-sized car.

Industry sales of light vehicles rose 29 percent year-on-year in November to 1.34 million cars, beating the previous monthly record of 1.32 million in January, according to the China Automobile Industry Association.

Peugeot aims to grow its dealership network in China to 300 dealers by the end of 2011, up from 220 this year, Zimmerman said.