Peugeot offers unique designs in existing segments

Peugeot will focus on volume in the future, but its models won’t necessarily follow the same molds as their rivals.

The brand’s chief designer, Matthias Hossann, told Autocar the 408 and 508 are examples of Peugeot’s strategy, given that both models have unique silhouettes for their segments.

But Peugeot’s CEO, Linda Jackson, has ruled out returning the brand to offering niche products such as coupes and convertibles, or breaking into new segments.

“We are not in a proper strategy. So we’re defining exactly where we call the volume and profit pool, where the volume is and where the right position is for Peugeot,” said Ms. Jackson. Autocar.

“So I wouldn’t be in this position – and I’m sure someone would ask me – to have a convertible or a coupe. Or will I have something else? And I always let people down because, you know, that’s not our strategy.

“Our strategy is very, very focused and really focused on where we are: our core segment, our core success.

“Of course, who knows the future? But quite honestly, I think we need to be very focused at this stage.”

She noted Peugeot 208 is Europe’s best-selling car, while the electronic rival e-208 is Europe’s best-selling electric car.

Although the recently revealed 408, an upscale forklift truck, seems to contradict Ms Jackson’s statement that Peugeot will not compete in new or niche segments, the executive noted that customers 408’s customers can come from the existing small and mid-size segments.

She also notes that customers don’t differentiate between segments like automotive executives do.

While rivals like Ford and Opel/Vauxhall have left the midsize passenger car segment in Europe, Peugeot thinks its 508 is likely to continue.

Mrs. Jackson said: “Right now, the 508 is doing very well and I’m pretty happy with it.

“We’ll see how it plays out in the future, but people are moving away and looking for different types of vehicles, if you like, and we predict that there will be people going from the D segment to the 408. such as.

“So people are moving, but right now we believe they are different offers.”

The brand’s chief designer says the current 508, launched in 2018, is the beginning of “the evolution of the traditional sedan” with its sleek, coupe-like silhouette.

The new 408 is “challenging conventional silhouettes” and future Peugeot models will do the same, although Mr Hossann did not confirm whether future Peugeots will fork into conventional segments such as 408 or not.

“Every product we’re designing needs to be a global product,” he said, noting that China is no longer the sedan stronghold it used to be, as it seems that every global market continues to move towards the world. to SUVs.

“We don’t want to be stuck with traditional sedans or SUVs anymore,” Hossann said.

“We want to push the future of Peugeot, so every time we design a new car, we want to challenge the conservative silhouettes we are familiar with.”

He calls the 408 “a new generation of cars,” not a sedan or an SUV but a “white space” car to sit in the middle, with raised ride height but a sloping roofline for efficiency. taller and sportier.

He also added that the brand “didn’t want to just make a crossover sedan with some plastic parts on it”.

In contrast, the recently revealed 308 maintains a fairly conventional hatchback or wagon silhouette, while the 2008, 3008 and 5008 crossovers largely follow the same basic design formula as the compact crossovers. and the average size of the opponent.

Ms. Jackson’s comments rule out a return to coupes and convertibles, setting off a broader trend in the industry to phase out these body styles.

The brand has a rich history of intriguing two-door models, such as the 504 Coupe and Cabriolet and the 406 Coupe, but it’s been several years since Peugeot last offered a coupe or convertible.

Production of the RCZ coupe ended in 2015 with the last ones going on sale here in 2016. The 308 CC convertible also died around this time, with the smaller 207 CC droptop being discontinued in the same year. 2012.

Two convertibles experienced the mass extinction of foldable metal hardtops, with rival brands such as Ford, Opel/Vauxhall and Volkswagen also dropping them altogether.

Softtop successors like GM’s Cascada, sold under the Buick, Holden, Opel and Vauxhall brands, later died and a handful of affordable convertibles remain.

Peugeot also follows a broader industry trend of killing off non-truck-based engines for non-truckers.

Once a “hot” product in Europe, the MPV has declined markedly as SUVs have become more and more popular.

The 5008 converted from an MPV-like design to a more conventional crossover in its second generation, while the short-lived 1007 – which was never sold here – was scrapped in 2009 .

In other markets, Peugeot still sells engines intended for people, but they are based on its commercial vans.

THAN: What happened to the affordable convertible?