New Zealand Kiwis embrace Peugeot

Call it French evolution. Last year 1078 new Peugeots were registered in New Zealand, with the 307 the top pick.

In 2008 the intent is for sales to hit 1250, with the 307's aesthetically similar successor - the 308 - leading the charge.

Indeed, importer Sime Darby Automobiles NZ expects to sell 650 examples of the 308 this year, comparable with its best annual 307 count. It is a keen call, not least because the car has not been easy for the distributor to even lay hands on. Strong demand in Europe delayed launch
here by six months, and will restrict supply for another two.

One reason for confidence is that the starter model is a rarity - a medium-sized quality Euro hatch that sells for under $30,000.

Admittedly, this modest-performing XS 1.6-litre manual petrol version of the 308 undercuts the $30K mark by just $10, but this still provides a Corolla-challenging strategy other Euros cannot match without losing the full electrics, cruise control and climate air that are standard
308 fare.

Sime Darby marketing manager Rod Cunningham reckons on a $7000 advantage over a similarly-specified VW Golf. Peugeot is also offering an extra sweetener for at least six months - a three-year 60,000km service plan.



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Peugeot Pars in Egypt

Minister of industries and mines has announced that the production line for Peugeot Pars, a sedan made by Iranian automaker Iran Khodro, would soon be launched in Egypt.

Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, who arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo on a three-day visit on Saturday, said that about 5,000 Peugeot Pars sedans are to be manufactured per year in Cairo in the first phase.

He underlined that if the demand for Peugeot Pars gains increases in the Egyptian market and conditions improve for expanding Iran's car market, the production line for other Iranian models would also be set up in Egypt.

The minister hoped that mutual cooperation in cement, power and textile industries would be possible and the private sectors of the two nations would also become involved.

He undertook the trip to conduct official negotiations with Egyptian officials.

Mehrabian said that he was invited by his Egyptian counterpart Rasheed Mohammed Rasheed. He pointed out that he would convey the message of peace and unity of the Iranians to the Egyptians, expressing hope that a new base could be built for mutual commercial and industrial cooperation.

He said that the two nations, with deep cultural and historical roots, have many fields for cooperation.

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Peugeot-Citroen To Make New C5 Sedan In China

LE BOURGET, France -(Dow Jones)- PSA Peugeot-Citroen (12150.FR) will assemble its new Citroen C5 sedan in China as well as in France, the company said at a press event to present the vehicle that will be targeted at fleet operators and executives.
Vincent Besson, product manager for the Citroen brand, said it will be the first time that Peugeot-Citroen will start manufacturing a vehicle in China so soon after its launch.
The car, which will be launched commercially early next year in Europe, will be made at Peugeot-Citroen's plant at Wuhan.
Peugeot-Citroen operates in China through DongFeng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles, a joint venture set up with Dongfeng Motor Group Ltd (0489.HK).
The plant at Wuhan was designed to produce 150,000 vehicles a year, but capacity is now being doubled with a view to reaching 300,000 vehicles by 2008.
The new C5 will be competing head-on in a very tough market segment with cars such as Volkswagen AG's (VOW.XE) Passat, Renault SA's (13190.FR) new Laguna that went on sale this month, the Audi (NSU.XE) A4 and Ford Motor Co's (F) Mondeo, as well as the 407 made by Citroen's sister brand Peugeot.
Besson said Citroen is targeting worldwide annual sales for the C5 of 150,000, a figure that's greater than the best annual total for the model that it's replacing.

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Sarrazin, Lamy take Spa win for Peugeot

Perfection in qualifying is a wonderful thing, but it really doesn't count for much on race day, as Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gene found out again in today's 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps, the fourth round of the Le Mans Series. Having started from pole in each race thus far, the pair came up empty again in today's classic endurance race, felled an hour into the race by a failed wheel bearing.
Instead, the victory went to their Peugeot Sport teammates, Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy, who took a comfortable two-lap victory in today's six-hour race, consolidating their championship lead. Sarrazin and Lamy now have three victories to Minassian's and Gene's singular one.
Second overall, but easily a second per lap slower than the Peugeots, were Jean-Christophe Boullion and Emmanuel Collard in the #16 Pescarolo Sport. The Pescarolo-Judd doesn't have the pace of the diesel-powered Peugeots, but the team has reliability figured out, and to finish first, one must first finish, as the old adage goes.
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Peugeot's 308 RC Z Concept

One of the highlights of the upcoming 2007 Frankfurt IAA motor show in September is sure to be the Peugeot 308 RC Z concept car. The brutish, muscular looks of the 2x2 hatchback coupe are unashamedly reminiscent of the Audi TT, and Peugeot is using the concept to test the waters on a sporty variant of the standard 308. While the company points out that the aim of the RC Z, like any concept, is "to pioneer technical and styling ideas free from the constraints of volume production", the fact that it shares so many components with the existing hatchback hints that the RC Z might be quite close to production-ready. So the response it receives at Frankfurt, the world's largest motor show, could be very telling.

The Frankfurt IAA motor show will see the unveiling of Peugeot's latest concept, the 308 RC Z, based on the production 308 hatch and sedan. With a length of 4.276 (same as the hatchback), a width of 1.840 (25 mm more than the hatchback) and a height of only 1.320 m, the proportions of the 308 RC Z concept car combine a very dynamic design with a high level of road holding.

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Peugeot's first SUV arrives

The Peugeot 4007 is the company's first SUV and is set to arrive in UK showrooms shortly.


The off-roader is a joint collaboration between the PSA Peugeot Citroën group and the Mitsubishi Motor Corporation.

Peugeot's latest generation HDi engine means the 4007 emits less CO2 than some family cars and returns impressive 39.2mpg performance on the Combined Cycle.

The On-Demand 4WD System enables the driver to select three modes of drive whilst on the move.

Peugeot's 4007 is launched with two trim levels in the UK, either the SE at £22,790 or GT at £25,490 on-the-road.

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More engine honours for PSA Peugeot Citroen

In a special ceremony held at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, today, PSA Peugeot Citroen has been presented with the award for Best Engine in the 2007 Van Fleet World Honours for its 1.6 litre HDi engine. The high pressure common-rail direct injection engine, developed jointly with Ford in the world’s largest diesel engine manufacturing programme, is available in a wide range of passenger cars in the Peugeot, Citroen and Ford group ranges. This engine is widely recognised in the LCV market for its excellent fuel efficiency and low emissions, coupled with refined driving capabilities.The engine is available in the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner at both 75hp and 90hp, and in the larger Citroen Dispatch and Peugeot Expert in 90hp. With more models due to be powered by this engine, its full potential has yet to be realised.The award underlines the Group’s capabilities in engine design and manufacture, as well as its active commitment to lowering CO2 emissions. The broad deployment of modern HDi common-rail technologies across the Peugeot and Citroen model ranges has driven a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with the previous generation of engines. The Group has sold almost 10 million HDi common-rail diesel engines to date. The 1.6HDi, like all other Euro IV PSA Peugeot Citroen diesel engines, can run on up to 30% bio-diesel without modification.The award follows victory last week in the 1.4 to 1.8 litre category in the 2007 International Engine of the Year Awards for the direct injection, turbo petrol engine jointly developed by PSA Peugeot Citroen and BMW Group
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Peugeot extend 207 line-up with GTi

From June the Peugeot 207 GTi THP 175 model priced at £14,995 will be added to the high-selling 207 range of three and five door hatchbacks, CC coupe-convertibles and small panel vans in the UK.
The 207 line-up will be further extended this month with a four-speed Tiptonic automatic transmission option becoming available for 1.6-litre petrol three and five door Sport and five door SE models with prices ranging from £12,822 to £13,622.
The 207 SW estate models with petrol and diesel engine options will be added to the range in July, with prices yet to be announced. Theses will be followed by a recreational version based on their SW Outdoor concept model.
The Peugeot 207 was launched last July into the rapidly expanding ‘supermini’ range of passenger cars. This sector has shown the best growth in the UK new car market this year with sales up by 7.5 per cent.
Customers, either up or down-sizing because of taxation and traffic congestion issues, are being attracted into this sector by the increase in interior space, added specification and seating and load carrying versatility offered by the new generation of larger ‘superminis’.
Since the 207 launch last July Peugeot has sold over 50,000 of them in the UK and this year, with the addition of CC and SW derivatives, they expect to sell close to 70,000 units.
In 2008 they estimate 207 hatchbacks will achieve 70,000 UK sales, CC models 10,000 and the SW estate version 10,000 registrations each. The 207 is the overall best selling model range in Europe.
The UK sales objective for the new GTi is 700 units this year and 1,000 units in 2008. Most sales will come from retail and business user-chooser customers. As a range the 207 attracts 67 per cent of its sales from these customers.
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Turbo heaven for 207

The Peugeot 207 GT has arrived, bringing with it a much-needed power hike and a host of standard features. Just 121 of these cars will be made available in SA, so if you can’t wait for the GTI version you’d better get your skates on!
By Gareth DeanTime, it seems, cannot pass swiftly enough for Peugeot fans, who eagerly await the arrival of the 207 GTI. Those bereft of patience and wanting the sporty looks and exclusivity attached to performance Peugeots will be glad to hear that the three-door 207 GT has arrived, bringing with it a new turbocharged powerplant.This car’s four-cylinder 1,6 litre powerplant is the result of a joint collaboration between PSA Peugeot Citroën and the BMW Group and comes equipped with two overhead camshafts and 16 valves. According to Peugeot, the THP (Turbo High Pressure) unit delivers 110 kW at 5 800 r/min, 240 N.m from 1 400 r/min, and will propel the 207 GT to a 240-km/h top speed. Furthermore, the 207 GT is said to be capable of covering a kilometer in 29,4 secs from a standing start. Drive is directed to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox similar to that found in many other Peugeots, but with closer ratios to make greater use of the available power.The decision to go with a smaller turbocharged engine over a normally aspirated 2,0-litre unit was influenced by the increasing demand for reduced fuel consumption and emissions. Peugeot claim a combined cycle fuel consumption figure in the region of 7 litres per 100 km.Among the new technologies showcased in the THP engine is a Twin-Scroll turbocharger that combines exhaust gases with the airflow from the turbo' itself - pushing the turbine speed of the blower up to 220 000 r/min. That technology, when combined with high-pressure fuel injection, overcomes the usual issue of turbo-lag and provides significant boost from just over 1 000 r/min, the firm says.Safety features include ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, EBA, ASR traction control, CDS stability control and a set of ventilated disc brakes (283 x 26mm front, 249 x 9 mm rear) to provide swift and potent stopping power.Badged as the 207 GT Limitée, the three-door model sports such features as 17-inch alloy wheels shod with 205/45 R17 Pirelli P Zero Nero tyres, panoramic glass sunroof, full leather trim, MP3 CD player, directional headlamps, automatic lights, tyre pressure sensors, automatic windscreen wipers with rain sensors, six airbags and folding electric mirrors.The 207 GT costs R 209 900, which includes a 3-year/100 000 km warranty and Peugeot Assistance plan.
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Peugeot sales steady in a declining 2006 market

Peugeot new car sales remained buoyant in a UK market which saw a decline of 3.9%. With a total of 144,132 car sales Peugeot strengthened its position in the UK market, with a market share of 6.15%. This ensured that Peugeot regained fourth place in the manufacturers’ league table, comfortably reaffirming its position as the UK’s favourite French car brand. Sales of the new 207 have been particularly strong, over 27,000 units have been sold since the launch in July 2006. This represents a 2% increase over initial sales of 206, which went on to become the best selling Peugeot of all time and the UK’s favourite retail car for three consecutive years. Following its launch in October 1998, the 206 sold over 26,000 units in its first 6 months.Small car sales have always been a Peugeot strength and in 2006 Peugeot’s small car sales grew by over 6%. The UK car buying public continued its love affair with ‘open top’ motoring in 2006 and Peugeot comfortably secured its place as the leading supplier of cabriolets in the UK. This is set to continue in 2007 with the introduction of the stunning new Peugeot 207 Coupé Cabriolet which takes over from the 206CC, the world’s most successful small cabriolet – just in time for another scorching summer.2006 was a particularly strong year for Peugeot Fleet, with sales improving 15.4% to 75,290 units. Meanwhile, Peugeot LCV sales remained solid in 2006 with 16,947 vans sold. With the recently launched new Boxer and the new Expert scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2007, sales in this sector look set to grow.In 2007 Peugeot is set to further strengthen its product line up with the launch of the eagerly awaited 207 GTi, SW and CC and the dynamic 4007. The season of goodwill towards Peugeot customers has also been extended with a host of tempting offers. These include the 107 Urban Lite available at just £5995 and one year’s free insurance available on the fabulous new 207 GT THP 150.*
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