There may not yet be prices for our market but the truth is that the Peugeot e-208 is already having success. This was confirmed by the CEO of Peugeot, Jean-Philippe Imparato, in statements given to Automotive News Europe on the sidelines of the presentation of the new 208 that is taking place in Portugal (and where Razão Automóvel will also be present).
According to Peugeot's forecasts, around 10% of the new 208s sold will be electric. However, judging by the high demand that the e-208 has had in the beginning of commercialization in several markets, this forecast is capable of being somewhat pessimistic.
According to Jean-Philippe Imparato, “about a quarter of the pre-orders received are for the e-208”, that is, around 25% of the people who pre-ordered the new 208 opted for the unprecedented electric version.
Conclusions only later
Despite this initial surprise and good indicators, for Imparato it is still too early to draw deep conclusions about the impact that the electric version will have on the global sales of the new 208, and these pre-orders may just be the result of the so-called “technological pioneers” that they like to be the first to adopt new technologies.
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Be that as it may, the CEO of Peugeot was keen to point out that, even if sales were only at the 10% initially forecast, Peugeot should make a profit with the e-208, not requiring sales higher than those forecasted by the brand to reach the famous break even.
For Imparato, one of the main advantages of the e-208 "is the fact that its residual value is, according to specialists, 2000 euros higher than that of a gasoline model".
Speaking of gasoline, Peugeot's goal is for the e-208 to have a total cost of ownership (which includes acquisition, maintenance and use) identical to those of the 208s equipped with the 130 hp version of the 1.2 gasoline engine.