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Peugeot, Mitsubishi to suspend production at Russia plant

MOSCOW (Reuters) - PCMA Rus, a Russian venture owned by France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation <7211.T>, will temporarily suspend production of Peugeot, Citroen and Mitsubishi models, it said on Friday.

The venture, which has a plant in Kaluga south of Moscow, said it would also cut 100 jobs.

After several years of growth in excess of 10 percent, car sales in Russia dropped in 2014 as the economy weakened, battered by Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and sliding oil prices.

The market could plunge by as much as 35 percent this year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a string of carmakers have cut back local production.

"The continuing deterioration of the market situation forces us to make painful decisions," PCMA Rus said in a statement.

Production of the Citroen C4 Sedan and Peugeot 408 will be halted from April 27 to July 10.

The production line of sport utility vehicles (SUV) will be stopped from April 27 until May 12.

Two Mitsubishi models, Outlander and Pajero Sport, have been assembled at the SUV production line in Kaluga.

Peugeot holds a 70-percent stake in the venture and Mitsubishi owns the remaining 30 percent. First models were produced in 2012 and the plant has annual production capacity of 125,000 units.

(This version of the story corrects to say SUV line stopping from April 27, not April 2)

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Mark Potter)