Performance line-up on hold as Peugeot puts EVS first
PEUGEOT HAS CHOSEN not to expand its high-performance PSE range beyond the hot 508 and to focus instead on its drive to full electrification.
Giving an update on the future of the PSE brand, which stands for Peugeot Sport Engineered, company CEO Linda Jackson said: “To be honest we thought about [expanding the range], but then the prioritisation came into play and this is all about electrification. The fact is we are investing, as Stellantis, €40 billion for electrification and Peugeot is a part of that.
“We will have a full electric line-up by the end of this year where every model will have an electric version. You have to make your priorities.”
Jackson did not rule out a performance car built on one of the modular EV platforms used across the Stellantis group, even if nothing is in the pipeline right now. “There is nothing certain,” she added. “I’m not going to say we are going to launch something tomorrow, so don’t get your hopes up.”
She also hinted at the intriguing prospect of a roadgoing model with a direct link to Peugeot’s 9X8 WEC racer and its complex four-wheeldrive hybrid powertrain.
“I’m not sure – it’s not certain – but we could do it,” she said. “That’s under debate at the moment; we have got no decision. I think you can have a disparity [between the road and the race circuit]. At the end of the day this is all about building awareness, and also engineering and durability, which you can do without necessarily having a road car. It’s an interesting debate. I’m not saying we’re not going to have one.”