Entries Tagged 'peugeot' ↓

A decisive step in the Lion’s offensive on the world’s foremost automobile market. Presented today, as a world premier on the Chinese market, to around 300 Chinese journalists and more than 700 network representatives by Jean-Marc Gales the Marque’s Managing Director, the new Peugeot 408 marks a further step in the Marque’s offensive on the world’s foremost automobile market.

Despite being present on the Chinese market for 5 years only, the Peugeot Marque sold over 410 000 vehicles in 2009. This corresponds to a 44% sales increase compared with its 2008 performance.

Following its fine performance in the M1 segment with the success of the 307 saloon and the 307 notch-back, of which 3,522,800 have been produced worldwide, Peugeot is now quite legitimately embarking on a Chinese market offensive with its new 408 DF Peugeot.

This new prestigious notchback tailored for the Chinese market will serve to reinforce Dong Feng Peugeot’s product offer on the M1 segment that accounts for over 45 % of the total market.

In this manner, the new Peugeot DF 408 should enable the Lion Marque to increase its sales volumes by over 30% in 2010, compared with 2009, and thereby to grow at twice the forecast pace of the market.

This half-height architecture notch-back saloon has been designed and developed jointly by Peugeot’s Styling teams in Europe and China and meets three objectives: embody the Marque’s modernity, guarantee maximum safety and offer unrivalled interior space.

The 408 name follows the Lion Marque’s traditional naming logic. The figure 4 refers to the size of the car (4.68 m) and its positioning in the medium-luxury family saloon segment. The 0 in the middle signifies that it belongs to the Peugeot Marque, while the 8 expresses the vehicle generation.

With this name, the 408 naturally falls into place within the current Peugeot range and becomes the forerunner of the 8 series, the latest generation vehicles to be launched on the Chinese market.

The Dong Feng Peugeot 408 is the fruit of work by the joint venture set up between PSA Peugeot Citroën and the Chinese group DFM. The car is being produced at the Wuhan plant in Hubei province in China. It is positioned to become one of the market’s benchmark vehicles with a full-year sales target of 100,000 units

THE PEUGEOT RCZ – A DYNAMIC NEW CHAPTER

* On sale in Spring 2010
* Four power-train options including 200bhp petrol turbo
* Great driving and road holding qualities
* A range of options available to personalize the RCZ
* Stunning looks combine with practicality

The launch of the Peugeot RCZ will mark the start of a dynamic new chapter in the history of Peugeot. This stunning coupé has been designed to be a special vehicle within the Peugeot range, aimed directly at customers who see their cars as a source of driving enjoyment as well as daily transport.

The name, RCZ, symbolises this special positioning as it will be the first Peugeot passenger car not to use the traditional numbering system with a central ‘zero’ or ‘double zero’.

Designed to enhance the sheer enjoyment of driving, the RCZ is both dynamic (the top of the range model features an all new 1.6 litre THP 200 bhp engine) and responsible, offering an innovative blend of performance and environmental-friendliness. With its reduced weight, fine-tuned aerodynamics and modern engine technology, the entry level model has CO2 emissions of only 139 g/km.

Due to the special nature of the vehicle, it will be built by Magna Steyr in Austria in a production centre that specialises in exclusive vehicles built in small volumes.

Styling

The RCZ is a compact 2+ 2 Coupé with a number of key styling features. The “double bubble” of the roof, which was a major talking point of the original concept car, is retained in the production car.

The aluminium “roof arches”, another feature of the concept car, are also retained and help highlight the front windscreen, black roof panel and dark-tinted rear windscreen. At the front the RCZ retains the marque’s characteristic feline look.

The vehicle stands 1.36 m high and, with the optimised airflow due to the double bubble roof, has superb aerodynamics. At the rear, an active rear boot spoiler also contributes to the car’s aerodynamic efficiency; it can be deployed in two positions according to the speed of the vehicle to ensure an ideal balance between road holding and fuel consumption.

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Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the development of a Dual Injector system designed to improve fuel efficiency in small-displacement gasoline engines. The new fuel delivery system, the first of its kind in the world*1, uses an injector for each port rather than one per cylinder – speeding up fuel vaporization, reducing the amount of unburned fuel and reducing hydrocarbon emissions. Nissan will introduce the new system in production vehicles starting early in fiscal 2010.

While most current gasoline engines utilize one injector per cylinder (furnishing fuel to two intake ports), the new Nissan Dual Injector system doubles the number of injectors per cylinder. This reduces the diameter of the fuel droplets by about 60%, resulting in smoother, more stable combustion.

The system also adds continuous valve timing control on the exhaust side to conventional intake-side control, improving heat efficiency, reducing pumping losses and raising fuel efficiency by up to 4%*2 in sync with the dual injectors.

Left: One port of the Dual Injector Right: Conventional system injecting to both ports

While similar in theory to “direct-injection” systems, which also inject fuel directly into cylinders, such direct injection systems are difficult to use on small-displacement engines because they require a high-pressure pump that complicates system design, making component layout less cost-efficient. In contrast, the Nissan Dual Injector system is lighter and structurally simpler because it furnishes fuel at normal pressures, reducing cost by about 60% compared to direct-injection engines of similar displacement.

The new Dual Injector system also uses half the amount of rare metals in the catalyzer while maintaining the efficiency of the catalytic conversion system. That number could potentially be reduced to 75% in combination with the ultralow-rare-metal catalysts that were introduced in 2008.

“We consider it important to further improve the fuel efficiency of gasoline engines as demand for gasoline and other internal-combustion systems continues to increase around the world,” said Shuichi Nishimura, Corporate Vice President, Nissan Powertrain Engineering Division. “By widely applying the Dual Injector system on small-displacement engines, we hope to help reduce CO2 emissions and conserve rare metals.”

Nissan has been addressing a wide range of actions under “Blue Citizenship,” which represents the company’s desire to protect the blue planet and to be a corporate citizen that can live symbiotically with people and society. These efforts range from such global issues as the environmental protection to contribution to communities, promoting diversity and making personal mobility available to as many people as possible. Nissan continues promoting the “Nissan Green Program 2010,” based on the “Blue Citizenship” spirit by introducing effective technologies, products and services into the market.

*1: Mass production passenger cars (Nissan’s research).
*2: Compared with Nissan gasoline-powered engines in the same class.

PSA Peugeot Citroen’s new automotive technical and styling center (TASC) in Shanghai will roll out a world car in the coming three years and plans to put it on sale in the global markets, local media reported today.

The Shanghai Morning Post cited TASC president, who was also a general designer of Citroen C4, as saying that a new PSA world car developed by the center is expected to come to the market by 2012.

The PSA technology center went into operation in November 2008 with a total investment of one billion yuan. As part of the French car maker’s CAP 2010 blueprint, the establishment of the center aims to strengthen its engineering capability for faster expansion on the Chinese mainland.

The center currently has a staff of 220 people, including 30 designers, 110 engineers and 40 members of the procurement department. The center will be staffed with more than 500 members by 2010.

PEUGEOT’S CrossOver Vehicle

The Peugeot 3008 is a compact and spacious crossover. It represents a new and innovative offer, not only in the Peugeot range but also in today’s car market as a whole.

Manufactured in Eastern France at the Sochaux manufacturing plant, its concept and specifi cation has draw on all of Peugeot’s expertise and values.

The 3008 is positioned at the crossroads between several existing vehicles: the SUV, the MPV and hatchback. The car derives its strengths from this blend of motoring concepts while at the same adopting a number of new and original technologies (Dynamic Roll Control, Grip Control, etc) enabling it to combine specifi cations often deemed incompatible (driving pleasure inside a “tall” vehicle, improved traction while at the same time being eco-friendly, etc).

Through its non-conformist approach and its resolute styling, the 3008, designed as a pioneering vehicle, offers an original solution and optimal versatility to customers in search of modernity, practicality and driving pleasure.

Protective, versatile and status-enhancing, the Peugeot 3008, a crossover in all respects, opens up new motoring horizons.

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Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. today announced that it will display the Toyota FT-EV concept on opening Media Day at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), confirming its plan to launch an urban commuter battery-electric vehicle (BEV) by 2012. This announcement, coupled with its compressed natural gas powered Camry Hybrid concept display at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, signal Toyota’s intention to broaden the scope of its advanced alternative-fuel vehicle development.

“Now, more than ever, while we are so focused on the pressing issues of the moment, we cannot lose sight of our future,” said Irv Miller, TMS Group Vice President, Environmental and Public Affairs. “Nowhere is this more important than with our industry’s duty and commitment to provide true sustainable mobility with vehicles that significantly reduce fuel consumption, our carbon footprint and overall greenhouse gases.” The FT-EV concept shares its platform with the revolutionary-new iQ urban commuter vehicle. Already a huge hit in Japan, the iQ is lightweight and seats four passengers in comfort and security, while delivering exceptional mileage, sporty performance, unique refinements and a fun, youthful image.

Toyota’s FT-EV concept imagines an urban dweller, driving up to 50 miles between home, work and other forms of public transportation, such as high-speed rail. Although, for now, the FT-EV remains a pure concept, it represents a natural pairing of product strategies. Continue reading →