Peugeot planning ‘sustainable sales growth’ in Australia through electrification

Peugeot, through its local distributor Inchcape, is looking to grow sales in Australia by way of a two-stage rollout of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

The first step is to launch the all-wheel-drive, plug-in hybrid Peugeot 3008 SUV (below) halfway through 2021. This will likely be followed by an all-electric Peugeot 208 city hatch toward the end of 2022.

Speaking with CarAdvice at the Australian launch of the all-new Peugeot 2008 small SUV, Kate Gillis – newly-appointed general manager for the Peugeot and Citroen brands in Australia – confirmed the two-stage plan.

"Peugeot's reputation of innovation sees it positioned to take the lead with a fully-electric vehicle offering in the light car segment," Gillis said.

"Though still under study, the Peugeot 208 (below) is looking like the ideal candidate. However, what we can confirm is the introduction of a plug-in hybrid version of our most popular SUV, halfway through 2021."

When asked whether the new Peugeot 208 will come exclusively as an electric vehicle, or if regular petrol-engined versions would also join the range, Gillis said "the decision had yet to be made".

On top of electrifying the range, Gillis said Peugeot has a bright future in the Australian market. The brand plans to grow sustainably over time, with a focus on customer experience, as opposed to quickly.

"Our plans are to grow the brand sustainably, by both retaining our key customer demographic of middle-aged Australians, and appealing to a new, younger demographic with a unique level of customer service," said Gillis.

"We see our future electrified product range putting us in the best position to speak to a new demographic".

Peugeot has sold 1555 vehicles nationally as of September, which is down 12.9 per cent versus this time last year.

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