Electric Peugeots: brand teases new generation of EVs

► Peugoet’s path to electrification
► From hybrids to BEVs
► What to expect and when

Peugeot is going from strength to strength with its plans to electrify. The brand’s range of electric cars is increasing in size, offering EVs in various segments. Now, it’s announced plans to take advantage of Stellantis’ new range of STLA platforms, with the first models launching in the middle of 2023, teasing how a future range of Peugeot electric cars will look.

But that’s not all. Peugeot is taking other steps to manage its electrification roll-out. CAR can reveal Peugeot’s next steps which include:

• Offering pure electric versions of its bigger cars (308-size and larger)
• Introducing mild hybrid versions of its internal combustion engines to improve their fuel economy
• Building its own battery gigafactories
• Unleashing a range of electrified performance cars engineered by Peugeot Sport

Electric Peugeot models to start using STLA platforms

Peugeot took to social media in January 2023 to announce its latest new models as part of its e-Lion Day. As well as the group image of a bunch of silhouettes, the brand announced that a new e-3008 and e-5008 will launch towards the end of 2023 using the STLA Medium platform.

For the uninitiated, the Stellantis STLA series of platforms (available in Small, Medium, Large and Truck) will be used across the group’s huge number of brands to spur on their respective electrification goals. These new platforms are immensely configurable, allowing everything from a small supermini right up to a pure-electric pick-up depending on the brand. Peugeot has decided to start with the STLA Medium platform.

Jerome Micheron, Peugeot’s senior vice president head of product, says the new e-3008 and e-5008 will feature three powertrains; ‘I’m excited to share the e-3008 range will be up to 700 km [435 miles], with 3 powertrains, including dual motor. The e-3008 will be the first car to be launched with the new state-of-the-art STLA Medium platform – reveal second half 2023”

In the mean time, the brand is also using legacy battery-electric platforms from PSA (namely e-CMP and EMP2) with the e-208 and e-2008, as well as the more recently-announced e-308 and e-408. These CMP and EMP2 platforms also allow for plug-in hybrids, which Peugeot has sold for a few years now.

Coming soon: 48-volt ‘mild’ hybrids to boost fuel economy

Peugeot has prioritised plug-in hybrids with up to 40 miles of pure electric range, but it will also introduce mild hybrids (mHEV) which typically improve fuel economy by 5-10 per cent.

‘Mild hybrid is in our core techno strategy; we will have this proposal in the line-up very quickly,’ says head of CO2 Alexandre Guignard. ‘We need it. We want a portfolio with electrified ICE which means mHEV clearly.’

Companies such as Ford and BMW couple a belt-integrated starter/generator to the engine, which recovers kinetic energy as the car coasts or brakes, acting as a generator to charge a small battery pack. This electric power can in turn be fed into the drivetrain, boosting performance and reducing the load on the combustion engine. With the engine also able to shut off more frequently, and an upgraded 48-volt electrical system powering equipment such as air-con, owners could save around 7 miles to the gallon in a supermini.

New electrified transmissions and a battery factory

Peugeot is working on a slightly different approach, in its joint venture with Punch Powertrain. Their DT2 dual-clutch transmission can incorporate an electric motor to assist the combustion engine. For mild hybrid applications, a low power motor (20kW) will be added, and Punch estimates the system delivers superior fuel savings of up to 15 per cent. A higher power motor (90kW) can be deployed for plug-in hybrid cars with larger battery packs. The transmission will be ready in 2022, though Peugeot is yet to confirm which combustion engines it will be paired with.

The company is involved in another joint venture, with Nidec to develop and manufacture electric motors. But PSA’s most significant cooperation is with Saft, a battery maker owned by French petrolchemicals giant Total. In summer 2021, a pilot plant to develop lithium-ion batteries will be fully operational, with the cells then industrialised in PSA Groupe gigafactories in France and Germany. The goal is to produce 1 million batteries a year by 2030, or 10-15 per cent of European demand. 

Some €1.3bn in funding also comes from France, Germany and the EU, as PSA Groupe seeks to reduce reliance on Chinese, Japanese and Korean suppliers. Over time, the JV should fuse into producing solid state batteries, next-generation battery technology where the electrolyte is not liquid but solid, improving cell energy density and recharging capabilities. 

‘We are working very deeply to set up in this battery technology,’ says Alexandre Guignard. ‘Our strategy is to take control of our powertrain, batteries and EV motors, from engineering to manufacturing.’  

Performance Peugeots: enhanced by electrification

Another key part of Peugeot’s lower carbon future is electrified performance cars. ‘It’s the only way to deliver fast, fun and emissions-compliant cars, says Peugeot chief Jean-Philippe Imparato. ‘There is absolutely no alternative. I want my fun – but below 50g/km of CO2. The solution is electrified, that’s it.’ 

Peugeot has shown a Peugeot Sport Engineered vision of a 508, which comes to the UK in late 2020. The plug-in hybrid runs a 200bhp version of Peugeot’s 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine, working in tandem with an electric motor to turn the front axle. There’s a second motor spinning the rear axle, for all-wheel drive and a total system output topping 350bhp. 

The Peugeot Sport range will grow, to include a 3008 fast SUV, an all-electric successor to the 208 GTI, and more. At the same time Peugeot is having to remove ‘bad actors’ from its range: vehicles with high CO2 emissions that skew the company’s fleet average upwards. That’s why the next 208 GTI won’t be a small, light, high performance petrol car, but an all-electric 208 Peugeot Sport model instead.

Electric Peugeots in 2023: your handy guideRead our Peugeot e-208 review

Peugeot e-2008

• Same 50kWh battery pack and 136hp motor, but the SUV bodystyle provides a raised ride height and more cabin space.
• Priced from: £35,900
• Electric range: up to 214 miles
• 7kW wallbox charge time: 7hrs 30mins

Peugeot e-308 hatch and SW estate

• 54kWh battery pack, 154bhp, and looks identical to the 308 that uses a combustion engine
• Priced from around £35k
• Electric range: up to 250 miles
• 7kW wallbox charge time: 5 hours

Peugeot e-Rifter

• 50kWh battery pack, 132bhp electric motor
• Priced from £32,300
• Electric range: up to 172 miles

Peugeot e-Traveller

• The passenger-carrying version of the Traveller van gets five or eight seats, a 50kWh battery pack and lands in the UK in late 2020
• Priced from: n/a
• Pure electric range: 143 miles
• CO2: 0g/km
• 7kW wallbox charge time: 7hr 30mins