Since the discontinuation of the 308 GTI in November 2020, aficionados of the Lion brand have dreamed of a new 308 PSE. But as we have been announcing for several months, it will remain a pipe dream since the priority is the development of the electric 308, e-308, for 2023.
To the question, will there be a PSE version in the range, Agnès Tesson-Faget (project manager of the P5 family) was hardly enthusiastic about a favorable outcome during the presentation of the new 308. In October 2020 then at the beginning of March 2021, L’argus already announced that the manufacturer had reduced the sails on the PSE program.
A decision confirmed by the former boss Jean-Philippe Imparato during an interview he gave us a few days before the announcement of his transfer to Alfa Romeo in January 2021. He admitted that the success of the 508 PSE was a condition the future of future PES. Adding that the next PSE will arrive on a vehicle during its mid-life, namely the 208 in 2023.
Priority to e-308
Same story for the new Peugeot product director, Jérôme Micheron. “If you look at the market for sports versions and the CO2 regulations, it has collapsed. We don’t see a market yet. And that adds extra weight ” he told our English colleagues from Top Gear. The trail of sporty plug-in hybrids has cooled for several reasons. On the one hand, the profitability of a PSE version is not guaranteed due to its production in very small series. Jean-Philippe Imparato fought like a lion to give birth to the 508 PSE but when it came time to order, the European subsidiaries did not snatch the first 1000 copies.
On the other hand, Carlos Tavares (boss of Stellantis) has changed his tune by focusing on 100% electric, which until then was refractory. Thus, since the end of 2020, the project of an electric 308 has gone back to the top of the pile. Between a 308 PSE, which will sell a few thousand copies, and an e-308 (in 2023) essential for the reduction of the manufacturer’s CO2 emissions, the mass is said. In March 2021, the boss of Peugeot (Linda Jackson) confirmed the launch of the e-308 in 2023. Finally, we must not forget that the current PHEV architecture will be gradually replaced from 2023 by that associating the 1.6 PureTech Generation III and the e-DCT Punch Powertrain transmission. On the other hand, the future e-3008 (2023) will technically be a better candidate for the PSE label because it will benefit from the new e-VMP platform and an unprecedented electric powertrain developing up to 340 hp.
TO READ. PSA formalizes its new electric platform for 2023
