Put back the power for good. Absent or almost absent from the electric car market since the 1990s, Peugeot will be back in the arena as of autumn, with the commercial release of the new 208. The city car of the Lion brand will indeed be available at fourth quarter in all engines, even diesel, and a fortiori lithium-ion version with 340 kilometers of autonomy (according to WLTP regulations).
“It’s very important to us. The city segment B is the versatile car par excellence, the vehicle in all homes. Everyone must have the choice of their energy according to their own needs, “says Laurent Blanchet, the boss of the Peugeot range, which targets at least 10% of sales in electrical.
For Peugeot, the stakes are high. This type of city car weighs 30% of the volume of the brand, the first in terms of sales, and represents the core business of a generalist manufacturer. “It will also be our first electrical test,” says Laurent Blanchet, confessing to have long hesitated, “to be frank,” to endow the car with a diesel version.
“We had to decide at the beginning of Dieselgate [late 2015, Ed], we did not know how things would turn out. But it was said that there would remain uses for diesel, especially in the fleets, “he abounds. The gasoline could be endowed in a second time with a light hybridization, intended above all to reduce the consumption and therefore the average CO2 of PSA.
Upmarket
As expected, the star of the day must also participate in the upscale Peugeot wanted by Carlos Tavares, the boss of PSA. The target price is the Volkswagen Polo. The 208 will have the same driver assistance systems as the 508 sedan, and the dashboard inaugurated by the SUV 3008 – moreover, the aesthetic rather marked of the 208 is reminiscent of those of his two older sisters.
“But this time, our i-cockpit will be even in 3D, welcomes Gilles Vidal, the chief designer of the brand. A hologram chosen by the driver will float behind the wheel. This is not entertainment, it reinforces the ergonomics and hierarchy of information of the driving position, “he said.
Under the bonnet, the 208 is of course built on the CMP platform, which allows all engines, and its assembly is planned in Trnava, Slovakia, alongside the Citroën C3 – for the European market at least. Because the small city will also be produced on the other side of the Mediterranean … The first models that will come out of the Kenitra Moroccan factory, which should be inaugurated in the coming months, will be Peugeot 208.
With 230,000 registrations last year, the 208 was the fourth-best-selling city car in Europe, behind the Renault Clio (336,000), the Volkswagen Polo (300,000) and the Ford Fiesta (271,000), according to data from Jato Dynamics.