9:53 am, January 19, 2012
PEUGEOT’S 207 will not be offered as a budget alternative to the new 208, the firm’s UK boss has told Car Dealer.
While the brand-new 208 arrives in June, Peugeot MD Tim Zimmerman has ruled out offering the 207 as a cheaper alternative.
‘When the 207 was launched, we offered a 206 Plus for a short time,’ said Zimmerman. ‘But with the 208 we will not be doing a similar thing for two reasons.
‘Firstly we think the 207 would not be complimentary with the brand-new 208. And secondly we’ve got models in A, B, and C-segments, and doubling up in one segment is just too much for us.’
However, Zimmerman did reveal the 207 CC and the SW will continue for a period of time.
Peugeot UK has much confidence in the new car, too. ‘Our current customer base is currently in their 50s. We are aiming at the 25 to 35-year old market as they are economically active and buying vehicles, and we are hoping the 208 will bring down our average customer age down a little.’
The firm aims to tempt buyers into the car with good looks and a quality interior. A wide range of petrol and diesel engines – from a new 1.0-litre to a 1.6-litre turbocharged unit in the petrol range, and a variety of 1.4 and 1.6-litre e-HDi diesels – will be on offer to customers – a reason why the 207 didn’t sell as well as it could have done.
‘The 207 sold very well for us, but with an entry-level model being a 1.4-litre petrol engine version, we were pushing ourselves out of the lucrative portion of the B-segment market,’ said Zimmerman.
The 208 will also be offered under Peugeot’s ‘Just Add Fuel’ offer, and more hints have been made of a GTi version. ‘All I can say at the moment is that the 208 will see the return of a badge that has a great history within the 2-series,’ said Zimmerman.
The next issue of Car Dealer features Zimmerman along with nine other key automotive influencers discussing 2012 – click here to subscribe and to get hold of the issue
