Europe’s economy is in dire straits, and the continent’s carmakers can no longer prioritise their home market for growth. Developing markets are where the action is – besides cash cow China, there’s South America, Eastern Europe and Russia. Loss-making Peugeot hasn’t been very strong outside of Western Europe, but with a new brand CEO who speaks Cantonese, things are about to change, Autocar UK reports.
New brand CEO Maxime Picat has said that the expansion hinges on the success of the new Peugeot 301 saloon. Designed for the rest of the world, we first saw the 301 in May last year. The 4.44 metre-long sedan has been developed to adapt to various conditions and extremes – think cold weather, hot weather, poor roads, etc. Click here for full details and pics.
In 2010, only 30% of Peugeot sales were from outside Western Europe. The figure rose to 42% in 2011 thanks to fruits from its Chinese JV with DongFeng Motor, which at the time was headed by Picat. Now that he’s in charge of the whole company, the target is to have overseas sales contribute 50% of total sales by 2015, and 60% by 2020.
The 301, which has a big 506 litre boot, will spearhead Peugeot’s assault on Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East and selected Latin American markets. The car will then be launched and manufactured in China.
The reason why this main weapon is a sedan is simple – people outside of Europe prefer a boot. In hatchback-loving Europe, only 2% of new cars in this size class are saloons, but the figure is 74% in the Middle East, 64% in Asia and 50% in both Eastern Europe and Africa, Picat points out.
The Peugeot 301 is the length of a Honda City, but at 2,650 mm, the Pug’s wheelbase is a full 100 mm longer. Do you think the 301 will work here in Malaysia as a Vios/City rival?
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if the price is around vios/city, maybe can challenge them. Just concern on service & spare part….
There is for sure it can compete with vios and city as long as no more cut cost on this car..
the current 207 is a joke, the appearance is 207 but actually is 206, phuii…
I don’t know, when looking for a new car that will be a Honda City. I specifically skip the Pug 206 because a) the cabin is too cramp, and Iám not even that tall
b) ugly.
Although this is waaay better looking than Vios or City, the interior and exterior styling looks……plain
it might works for Peugeot n Naza as well here…we’ll see..
This car is a lot more competitive than the 206-engineered 207 sedan.
If it has good steering feedback and handles well and with the right pricing assisted no doubt by local assembly, l’m sure it can give THN a run for it’s money in this segment:)
longer than almera 2600mm.. amazed.
almera = RM70k – RM80k for AT.
I see the only best choice for this PUG is RM75k range also. CKD it ba.:D
I fully agreed with Istvan, Wish to add thatit must not be underpower. Also should come with few variants and with manual transmission as an option.
if only the new SAGA is like this….
Omg. that mirror profile.
looks no better than a basic B-segment sedan.
considering it’s 300 series.. probably pricing near to pug 308.
RM90k range. this will really dissapoint many people out there, and get low sales as well.
Rm90k range, people will have so many great choice, other than lousy NAZA service.
Don’t think it will be introduced as they do not have right hand drive versions of the car.
Naza gurun plant is for Pug right-hand drive production hub rite..maybe they will make that model there.
nope. don’t think so.
good if it is turbocharged. else another piece of junk on the highway that takes up space.
Hello, can anyone tell me what is the engine capacity and power output?
1. 115 hp 1.6 litre VTi four cylinder
2. 72 hp 1.2 litre VTi three cylinder
3. 92 hp 1.6 litre HDI four cylinder diesel
manual and automatic transmission options in the mix.
agree with everyone here.. it looks good too
at this price range , anything is better than the ugly 207 T3 sedan
peugeot shud introduce this car to our shores….
Better looking than the current vios.simple n practical.
don’t think this model coming anytime too soon since the 207 is still in production.
but, we never know, fingers crossed! :)
It looks plain, but fine for cheap people’s car… Although more dynamic design would be more desireable….
I am under the impression 301 must have existed 30-40 years ago, being later replaced by 302 then 303.. up to 308 which we have now. Looks like it doesn’t work that way. And since the targeted segment is “B” segment, the series should start with 2xx and not 3xx.
Oh well, life is no fun if it is too simple. Let’s complicate it a bit.
Cars are becoming bigger and bigger. Still remember altis-waja-civic-sentra? They were in segment C. Then when FD2 was out and setted new size, the others joined it too. So olden days of C segment size is replaced by new B segment cars now. Meet the almera, pug 301, city. Toyota (vios replacement) and proton will come later on. New A segment sedan car also will be introduced like brio sedan
Naza should seriously consider to replace the current 207 saloon with this car – ASAP!
this car is a c-segment car, so equivalent rivals are corolla altis, civic, focus etc.
but since Peugeot designed it to be as an entry level C-segment, in our market it should be compared with entry-level c-segment rivals like civic 1.8 or forte 1.6.
but looking at the current 301 spec, it seem to be not-so-ready for our market taste and demand.
and it will take some years if it’s to be introduced here as currently it exist only in LHD form. Peugeot is mulling to develop RHD version since public acceptance for the 301 is ‘better than expected’.
all in all, I think Nasim wouldn’t be able to bring it here in 2013 (if they want) as it isn’t ready.
The 208 will be Nasim Peugeot big event in 2013.
Peugeot expansion is likely to remain modest this year due to lack of viable new models to be introduced in Malaysia.
Nasim would do well to focus their effort in strengthen after sales services quality and increasing the sales of current line ups.
Beside, Naza will have their time occupied with their new toys i.e. Citroen.
I don’t think it’s a C segment car, looking at the power train given, it doesn’t reach 2.0l. Width size wise also doesn’t reach more than 1750mm – at 1748mm while civic 9th gen is at 1755mm. Although the wheelbase is quite long at 2,650mm vs civic at 2670mm. The true pug C segment sedan car is 408, that is derived from pug 308, wheelbase is 2710mm and width 1815mm.
the 301 is a b-segment sedan while the 308 sedan and 408 (they’re both different cars) are peugeot’s c-segment sedans.
Peugeot already have C segment model in the form of Peugeot 408. The 301 is for the B segment market – Vios, City, Almera, Polo Sedan.
if that’s the case then Peugeot is blurring the boundary between b & c segment. B-segment models should start with 20x affix.
but then again, this isn’t mighty important.
as long as they come up with products that people want, they can do no wrong..
I think this 301 will be able to replace both the unattractive 207 sedan and the 408 sedan simultaneously, especially with a turbo engine option. Peugeot should produce a RHD version of the 301 in Malaysia for all RHD markets including India which they have not reentered, and go on to develop replacements for the 207 sedan in the form of a 201, and the 408 sedan in the form of a 401. An all-new 408 sedan must then be developed, not a booted version of an existing hatch in the range as the proportions will not be right.