The successor of the current Peugeot 208 it will be publicly known during the next Geneva Motor Show, to be held in March 2019. Among the main news, the highlight is the debut of a 100% electric variant, but according to statements by Jean-Pierre Imparato, CEO of Peugeot, to AutoExpress, may be accompanied by others.
I'll reveal everything in March, but I don't want the future to be boring. (…) When you buy a Peugeot, you'll find design, the latest version of the i-Cockpit, and the highest levels of equipment GT-Line, GT, and maybe GTI, because I don't want to make any difference between electric models and motors. combustion; the customer will choose the engine
Statements that reveal several possibilities, leaving the door open to a potential 100% electric Peugeot 208 GTI, sold in parallel with the future combustion engine 208 GTI.
Peugeot knows “a thing or two” about high-performance variants — the RCZ-R, 208 GTI and 308 GTI meant a return of form for the French brand to this market niche — and in 2015 it demonstrated what the future could hold in the chapter on high performance, with the presentation of the prototype 308 R Hybrid , a super hot hatch, hybrid, with 500 hp of power and less than 4s in the 0 to 100 km/h.
Peugeot Sport already works with electrons
Although the design of the 308 R Hybrid has not reached production, Imparato said that Peugeot Sport is working hard on the development of electrified high-performance vehicles — the Peugeot 3008 is expected to receive a sports hybrid variant with 300 hp in the near future.
Like all other manufacturers, Peugeot is also dealing with the challenge of future emission regulations coming in 2020, which could jeopardize the development of sports variants. But according to Jean-Pierre Imparato, there is a solution, and it's called electrification.
(…) my friends from the competition work on some projects to make our customers happy with something that is high performance and at the same time compliant with regulations. As I said, I don't want the future to be boring
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easy power
Peugeot's CEO goes further and says that, within 10 years, it will be very easy to reach high powers with electric cars, and will no longer be the exclusive domain of premium builders. Electrification opens up the possibility for non-premium brands to enter new segments or niches: “I will have the opportunity to market cars with 400 kW (544 hp) of power. This changes everything.”transition speed
According to Imparato, the speed of transition to electrification will not be the same by region, that is, in the same country we will see differences in the rate at which the market absorbs electric vehicles: “Individuals in Paris will be electric, individuals who make 100,000 kilometers a year will be Diesel, and the average person will buy gasoline. But all will be in the same 208.”
Confirmed is also the decision that there will not be specific models in Peugeot exclusively electric, like some of the competitors. Renault created the Zoe, which it sells in parallel with the Clio, but the Sochaux brand prefers to have the same model, in this case the Peugeot 208, with different engines, in order to guarantee similar driving experiences, regardless of the engine.