By Carlo Platella
These are important months ahead for Peugeot, with the arrival on the market of the new 3008 and 5008 on which the French company is betting so much. The new SUVs continue the transition of the Stellantis brand towards electric, which however remains faithful to the multi-technological approach to meet the needs of new markets, with the awareness that the diffusion of the electric car will require a helping hand even governments. FormulaPassion spoke about these and many other topics with CEO Linda Jackson on the occasion of the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans.
We are in Le Mans where Peugeot is present for the second consecutive year in the premier class. How important is this program to you?
“It’s an opportunity to talk about Peugeot, our engineering skills and our cars. In addition to all this it is a technological laboratory. For example, our Hypercar is equipped with a battery developed in collaboration with Saft, part of whose technology we are exploiting for the hybrid conversion of our models. Le Mans is a great way to talk about us, but also a technological tool. I was also in Imola and I was impressed by the fans, who came in their thousands.”
The new 5008 will be on the market soon. What role can it play?
“It’s a 7-seater SUV, with really interesting range. Try naming another 7-seater SUV with that range and you’ll understand there’s an opportunity. The 3008 and 5008 have the potential to become best sellers. The market for compact and medium SUVs is the largest in Europe. Having two models like this that address two different customers is extremely important for us.”
What can we expect after the new 3008 and 5008?
“We haven’t even started selling the 5008 yet. We’re still at the beginning and for us it’s a really important model, with the best autonomy in the segment. We also need to focus on the 3008, including the plug-in hybrid version, and then on the 5008. I would say there is a lot to work on for the next few months.”
The electric car market is struggling to take off in Italy. How is Peugeot dealing with this situation?
“We are in a very fortunate position, because our approach is multi-technological. Obviously our goal is to be a leader in electric, but we are also aware that every market and every country is on a different trajectory. For the smaller segments and for commercial vehicles we are the electric leader and we are now about to launch the 5008. We must take advantage of this, but we are also in a position to help our customers in this transition, also offering them different powertrains”.
What can be done to promote electric mobility?
“We need to ask ourselves two questions. The first is what a builder can do. What we need to do is offer accessible electricity, charging stations and columns. We must also offer a hybrid transition from thermal to electric. Builders have work to do, but not all of them. If you look at countries further along in the transition you will notice that companies have also received state incentives. We had some in France earlier this year and they really boosted the market. I would therefore say that what is needed is a combination of government assistance, in the form of infrastructure and incentives. On the manufacturer side, however, we need to make sure that the cars are accessible. Everyone has a task.”
What is Peugeot’s position towards Artificial Intelligence?
“We believe that artificial intelligence is important and that’s why we implemented it on the 3008, where we installed ChatGPT. Some see it as just a novelty, but it is extremely useful and is profoundly different from speech recognition, because you can converse with it. Outside of the machine itself, we use AI for many other things, from design to customer service centers, from translations to video creation. We’re still in the early days of Artificial Intelligence, but we wanted to make sure Peugeot could offer something incredibly useful to customers. AI should not be used just for the sake of it, but must guarantee an actual benefit.”
Several brands, some of which are also within Stellantis, are investing to develop low-cost electric cars. Can we also expect something from Peugeot, perhaps under 20,000 euros?
“The advantage of Stellantis is that we have 14 brands. Some brands are strictly American, but in Europe we still have many, each aimed at a different price range. What we want to do is cover the market for all our customers, not only in terms of segments, but also in terms of price. We don’t want to compete with each other, it wouldn’t make much sense. Each brand has its own positioning and Peugeot is positioned on a high level mainstream. This doesn’t mean that we can’t offer cheap cars, but we won’t all go below 20,000 euros, because each brand has its own role. These placements must be protected to protect the value of the brand. You have to be accessible, but you don’t have to compete with each other. You can’t offer everything to everyone.”
There are those who argue that Peugeot is becoming a premium brand…
“In Stellantis there are already other premium brands. For me we are a superior mainstream brand, but still mainstream. I think it’s the right positioning for us, I don’t want to aim higher. We are really proud of it and we will protect it.”
When presenting your models you often use the word Allure. What is its meaning?
“Excellent, attractive and exciting. There are three values, one of which concerns design, sleek and distinctive. The second is the thrill of driving, the pleasure of driving a Peugeot with its i-cockpit and small steering wheel. Finally there is excellence, being the best in class in everything from battery life to charging times. For me this is Allure. Driving a Peugeot must be a pleasure, but at the same time we want to include technology that enhances this pleasure. The thrill of driving grows thanks to technology.”
What assessment do you draw from this first half of 2024 and what do you expect from the next six months?
“In this first half we experienced the transition from the old 3008 to the new one. I’m really excited now for the second half of the year, firstly because the new 3008 and 5008 will hit the market. We are also catching up on mild-hybrid, which is very important for Italy. The mild-hybrid represents almost 30% of the market in Europe and now that we are also arriving there is a great opportunity.”
Some manufacturers have started investing in the development of diesel engines again. What is your position?
“We are committed to this journey towards electric and to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2038. We do not invest in new diesel engines, as our focus is on hybrid and electric. We regretted the autonomy of the diesel, but that of some of our electric vehicles is no different.”
Another promising technology for the future is hydrogen. Do you rate it too?
“We are studying hydrogen fuel cells for smaller vehicles than those we have dealt with in the past. We study many things in reality. For example, we are preparing for our models to accommodate e-fuels. In any case, the solution to meet certain standards is electric cars, but we are also evaluating other things. Everything is evolving so fast. I have seen more change in the last three years and will see just as much in the next five than I have seen in the last forty. Already for batteries alone we are studying solid state ones, compact ones and new chemical compositions. Nobody knows what the solution will be in the future.”
#Peugeot #CEO #speaks #sellers
