Peugeot hybrids close to green light

Peugeot appears set to become a significant player in the Australian hybrid car market before the end of 2013.

The local distributor, Peugeot Automobiles Australia, is on the verge of green-lighting the launch of it first two hybrid models here, the diesel-electric all-wheel drive 508 RXH HYbrid4 and 3008 HYbrid4.

The decision is a complete reversal from mid-2012 when it seemed both cars were no chance of local sale because Peugeot was dragging its heels on validating the cars for hot weather.

However, that testing has been completed over the summer and the cars have now been approved by the factory for Australian sale.

In tandem with its parent company’s engineering and compliance testing, PAA has been conducting an in-depth study to establish the viability of bringing either or both cars here and how they are marketed.

“We have just completed a very complete analysis of the whole hybrid market in Australia,” PAA General Manager/Director Bill Gillespie told motoring.com.au. “So we now have a very, very solid handle on the size of the market and what its potential might be in Australia.”

“At this point it is looking very strong and we want to bring the cars to market, we just need to sort out the final timeline on bringing them to Australia… we’d like to see them here in quarter four.”

Gillespie said the details of the business case, the breadth of the rollout to dealers and other issues such as pricing would be resolved over the next eight to 10 weeks. That process will be aided by work already put in by PAA’s sister company in New Zealand, where the cars will be launched shortly.

He confirmed the two cars would be priced at a premium because of their added technology. The top spec 508 GT diesel wagon retails in Australia for $55,990, while the most expensive front-wheel drive 3008 Allure diesel is priced at $43,490.

“But clearly we can’t bring cars to market that aren’t competitive,” he added. “That is just a waste of time -- we need to position ourselves against the other offerings in the market.”

Both the 3008 and 508 RXH HYbrid4s are powered by the same diesel-electric drive system that employs a 120kW/300Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel 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

The two hybrids will be added to a PAA model rollout that also includes the 5008 people-mover in May, the facelifted RCZ coupe in June, the 208 GTI hot hatch in July, the 2008 mini-SUV in October, the Malaysia-built 408 sedan in quarter four, the limited-edition turbo-petrol RCZ R in the first quarter of 2014 and the next-generation 308 small car about mid-2014.

With this influx of models, PAA has set itself the target of 6000-6500 sales in 2013 and, beyond that (although Mr Gillespie declined to talk a specific timeline), a new Australian annual record of 9000 sales. The current record is 8807 sales, set in 2007.

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