Peugeot invests 80 million euros in electrified gearboxes: union

PARIS (Reuters) - French carmaker PSA Group will build electrified gearboxes in eastern France for a new generation of hybrid vehicles, in an 80 million euro ($94 million) investment with supplier Punch Powertrain, a union official said on Wednesday. The double-clutch gearbox will be deployed in so-called "mild" hybrids that combine a 48-volt electric motor with a combustion engine, the Peugeot maker has previously said. The joint venture with Chinese-owned Punch will create 400 jobs at the carmaker's Metz plant as it targets annual production of 600,000 gearboxes within four to six years, the Force Ouvriere union official told Reuters. A PSA spokesman said the company had no immediate comment. ($1 = 0.8511 euros) (Reporting by Laurence Frost)