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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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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Peugeot 107 love for the city dates back to the Spring of 2005, though it is more than happy to take the motorway out of town… With more than 322,000 units produced (to the end of September 2008) and owners among the best ambassadors of its numerous qualities, the Peugeot 107 provides an efficient and clever response to the needs of urban mobility and does so with a smile on its face.

The Peugeot 107 is attractive

Its fun-and-youthful appearance, multiple body colours and cute-shaped headlamps light up the road as well as the lives of its customers. For these customers, style counts for much in their choice of car and still remains a strong decisive factor.

The Peugeot 107 offers key benefits

Its handling and low running costs, important and distinctive criteria of choice in its segment, together with its stylish appearance and affordable purchase price, result in a user satisfaction level way above the market average.

The Peugeot 107 expresses youthfulness

Like most vehicles in this category it is purchased as a second or third car in the family, the 107 stands out from the competition particularly by the prevalence of owners who are females in its customer base (69%, a quarter of them under the age of 35), a higher proportion of single people living with their parents and a lower proportion of retired people.

As 2009 approaches, the new Peugeot 107 increases its appeal:

* continues to deliver key benefits
* enhances these features
* enriches its specification

Peugeot and Renault lowered their national car sales estimates for Brazil at the International Autoshow in Sao Paulo on Monday.
Peugeot President Laurent Taste said 2008 should end with national auto makers selling 2.7 million cars compared with earlier estimates of 2.9 million.
Renault President Jerome Stoll said he expects similar numbers from Brazil’s national auto market and revised figures to 2.75 million units compared with in-house figures nearing 3 million in May.
In the January-September period, car makers sold 2.21 million units, up 27% from a year earlier, according to the Brazilian Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, or Anfavea.
“We expect sales to be stable next year, which isn’t a bad thing considering the [financial] crisis,” Taste said referring to the global credit crunch and the likelihood of an economic slowdown in Brazil.
Stoll and Taste said costly credit would also impact the sector.
Banks have raised interest rates sales on new and used cars in response to a general risk aversion among lenders.
“At the beginning of the year we financed up to 30% of new car sales and now it’s gone to 40% and could even reach 60%,” Taste said.
Stoll said tighter credit in Brazil could impact the local auto market, which has been a key driver of economic growth in Brazil over the last several years.