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PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Peugeot hybrids heat up for Australia
Diesel-electric 308 and 508 commence hot weather testing – verdict in six monthsPeugeot’s on-again off-again diesel-electric hybrid program could be back in contention for Australia as early as 2013.
Hot weather testing delays had prompted Peugeot Automobiles Australia to scratch the 3008 and 508 RXH Hybrid4s off the potential import list.
But at the Paris motor show, Peugeot global production range director Laurent Blanchet told motoring.com.au the hot weather testing program had been resurrected.
“What we are doing for the moment is developing the car for cold weather,” Blanchet said. “So the test for cold weather is finished and now we are beginning the test for hot weather.”
“In six months we will know how we will go to Australia for example.”
Mr Blanchet said there were a number of issues triggered by hot weather that needed further research, citing the climate control system as a major one. Over 35 degrees Celsius the diesel engine has to run to keep the system operating, nixing the hybrid’s zero emissions capability.
“So when you have very hot weather the performance of the system is less impressive than normal weather, but still a very big benefit for customers compared to normal cars,” Mr Blanchet said. “We have to not only set the climate control but many different things to see the batteries resist the warm weather.”
Both the 3008 and 508 RXH Hybrid4s are powered by the same diesel-electric drive system that employs a 120kW/300Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine to drive the front wheels via a six-speed automated manual gearbox and a 27kW/200Nm electric motor to drive the rear wheels.
Released in Europe earlier this year, the 3008 Hybrid4 offers combined fuel consumption of just 3.8L/100km and the larger 508 RXH consumes 4.2L/100km, while Peugeot claims the diesel-hybrid powertrain emits 35 per cent less CO2 than an equivalent petrol-hybrid system. Neither model is yet to be released outside Europe and the hot-weather ban also affected the recently announced 508 Hybrid4 sedan, which comes with the same powertrain but was never planned for Australian introduction.
Mr Blanchet also revealed a solution to Peugeot’s automatic transmission issues is coming, although it is further away. European markets don’t buy many autos in small cars, but it is the preference in places such as Australia. The lack of an auto offering for the 4008 diesel and the four-speed auto in the new 208 are obvious examples of the issue.
But now that Peugeot is committed to globalising its sales reach, Mr Blanchet said a new family of autos would be rolled out in the next two to three years. He confirmed various different technologies including torque converter and dual-clutch were being worked on.
“I know for the moment our automatic gearbox in the 208 is not at the top of the market,” Mr Blanchet conceded. “But we have launched some developments to have a real good gearbox in this car in the future and we would develop in all the range our gearbox in the next years with of course a big attention on the CO2 emissions because automatic gearboxes generally speaking are higher in terms of emissions.”
Separately, Blanchet told Autocar magazine that the next-generation 308, due in Australia in March 2014, would feature a new six-speed transmission. Autocar tipped Aisin would be the supplier.
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Written byBruce Newton
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