This sedan is the first in the lineup of “01″ cars that is its new naming strategy. “01″ represents VFM factor of the cars and its practicality of use. The 301 will be built in Vigo (Spain) and targeted at markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, The Middle East, Gulf and African States, as well as in certain Latin American markets. Sales kick start from Turkey in November. Peugeot said it won’t sell the 301 in the UK.

An interesting fact – if you notice it’s target markets, you can see that most are developing economies. We don’t know why the Peugeot left out World’s two fast growing markets, India and China, for the 301. Peugeot needs to have a factory in India to manufacture this model and factories take years to build. Peugeot’s strategy for India has been like the Indian monsoon – you can’t put a date on it.

The Peugeot 301 – Value for Money?

• The 301 has a classy exterior with the front grille resembling the 508.
• Since it is targeted at developing countries, the 301 is built to withstand intense conditions like hot & cold weather, bad roads , dust, poor fuel quality, etc.
• It could be the largest car in its segment measuring 4.44 metres long along with a wheelbase of 2.65 metres.
• It has a boot capacity of 506 litres but it is still smaller when compared to Toyota Etios’ 595 litre cave.
• The 301 also packs a variety of safety equipment like ABS,ESP,Emergency Braking Assistance and 4 airbags.
• Entertainment can be had through the MP3 audio with Bluetooth hands-free kit. USB facility is also listed
• Remote opening of boo
• Parking Assistance

Peugeot 301 – Engine choices:

The 301 comes with one diesel and two petrol engine choices. All the engines are latest generation engines with advanced technology and reduced fuel consumption

• 1.6 litre HDI diesel engine with 92 horses and a manual box.
• 1.2 VTi petrol with 71 horses and either manual gearbox or Electronic Gearbox Control.
• 1.6 Vti petrol with 115 horses and comes with manual & automatic transmission.

Peugeot predicts the 301 would become a bestseller as they say that ” the 301 illustrates the internationalization of the brand.” Peugeot pins a lot of hope on this model as it went into operating loss in 2011. Demand is down in the European markets forcing Peugeot to look outside Europe for growth. It would be a good move to bring the 301 to India but we’d first like to learn if Peugeot has concrete plans in India.

Peugeot broke ground in Gujarat for a new plant and the development was followed by the announcement of a partnership with General Motors which was “Euro centric” according to GM’s top brass.

We now hear that GM and Peugeot could work together at the manufacturing level, rolling out cars from a common factory. GM has two production centers in India, at Halol, Gujarat and at Talegaon, Maharastra. The former is used to produce utility vehicles while the latter makes compact cars like Spark and Beat.

In another development, Peugeot has showcased a crossover concept christened Peugeot Urban Crossover Concept at the Beijing Auto Show. The concept is 4.1m long and 1.7m wide. Kolesa.ru speculates that this model will be built in the foreseeable future for China, Russia and India.

Codenamed A94, the main markets for this to-be compact crossover could be Russia, China, India and Brazil. The design of the crossover concept’s exterior was executed at the Peugeot Citroen’s research and development center located in Shanghai.

[Source - Kolesa.ru]

What’s the Deal?

•  General Motors will pay around $400 million for a 7 percent stake in French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen.
• Deal will make GM the second largest shareholder in PSA, after the Peugeot family, which holds around 30 percent.
• The shares won’t give GM any governance rights over PSA
• The deal is expected to close and take effect by the second half of this year.

Why did they do it?

• GM’s European operations has been constantly bleeding money. Money-losing German Opel unit needs the support of PSA for a new product direction.
• PSA is under heavy debts. It needs to support of a big manufacturer to develop new technologies and products.

What will come out of it?

• Two pillars around which the deal is built: platform sharing and purchasing.
• By merging their $125 billion in purchasing power they hope to keep supply costs down.
• Synergies resulting from the alliance will save approximately $2 billion annually within about five year
• Joint development efforts will focus initially on small and midsize passenger cars, MPVs and crossovers.
• The carmakers may also develop a new common platform for low emission vehicles, with the first model expected to debut in 2016.

[Source: Insideline.com]

If GM-PSA deal goes through, General Motors will purchase 7% of PSA but cannot purchase further shares in the future unless given permission from PSA. The two companies are likely co-develop engines, transmissions and platforms that would be used by Peugeot/Citroën and Opel/Vauxhall. The idea is to enjoy operating efficiencies through this partnership, going beyond a single vehicle collaboration.

Coming back to Fiat-Chrysler, CEO Sergio Marchionne has stated that the two automakers are continuing to search for a third partner. The two potential candidates for this JV are Suzuki and Mazda.

While Suzuki is still healing its burnt hands from the VW partnership, the company actively does business with Fiat across the globe and has excellent ties with the Italian manufacturer.

Mazda is also actively seeking a partnership as it seeks to move production out of Japan to counter the strength of the yen. After showing fourth straight year of financial losses, Mazda has realized that it may not survive the future alone. Slim profit margins and unfriendly domestic currency has resulted a a net loss of $1.29 billion for 2011.

Which is a more suitable partner for Fiat-Chrysler – Suzuki or Mazda?

Source: leftlanenews.com & Caradvice.com.au

The minister revealed on a radio show that PSA is in advanced talks with General Motors for a potential partnership.

The alliance makes a lot of sense for both manufacturers. GM’s troubled European division has been reeling under losses and could definitely use a helping hand from PSA (Europe second biggest manufacturer).

GM can certainly return the favor by giving PSA access to upcoming markets such as China and India where the American giant has a relatively strong presence. PSA also is carrying a huge debt of $4.5 billion and a tie-up with GM would infuse some cash, save money in product development, and perhaps reassure creditors.

Both companies could jointly run product development plans thus sharing the cost of development. Working together could not only bring down the investment required for each company, but would also add volumes and economies of scale.

If both parties manage to conclude the talks quickly, an announcement about the alliance might be made at the Geneva Motor Show.

Image of the Peugeot 207 testing in Pune was sent in by IAB reader Sujit.

[Source: Autonews.com]

The 4008’s 2.67m long wheelbase assures good cabin space and despite a relatively short overall length, Mitsubishi has extracted 416 liters of boot space.

A range of four engines shall be available on the day of launch, i.e. 2 petrol and 2 diesel engines. The 1.6L 116hp/ 152Nm paired with a 5-speed manual and a 2.0L 150hp/198Nm paired to either a 5-speed manual or CVT make up petrol engine options. The diesel counterparts are the 1.6L 112hp/ 280Nm coupled to a 6-speed manual and the 1.8L 150hp/ 300Nm engine driven through a 6-speed manual.

Except for the 1.6l petrol, which will be available in front-wheel-drive, all variants get four-wheel-drive with the shift-on-fly 2WD to 4WD transmission with the a lock feature. We don’t have clear pictures of the interiors but judging by whatever we have seen, the dashboard seems to be taken directly from the Mitsubishi ASX with minor nips and tucks.

After the car premieres at the Geneva motor show next month, it will be distributed in 50 countries starting from Russia and the Ukraine, then heading towards China, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Europe from May.

Peugeot made its presence felt at the Indian Auto expo with hybrid cars, MPVs and race cars. They were all set to enter the market with a bang!

However, the company’s India expansion plans have seem to hit a roadblock. News comes in through TheEconomicTimes that the company is shutting down its Mumbai office and re-evaluating its India plans.

Jonathan Goodman, director relations presse, PSA Peugeot Citroen -

The group is currently evaluating the scheduling of the project, which may lead to some adjustments to the schedule as it currently stands.

The reason for this ‘re-evaluation’ seems to be the declining sales in the European region where PSA stands as the second largest manufacturer. The car maker is re-evaluating the strategies for “frugal spending” on the India project to get maximum bang for buck. Further adding to that, the car maker is once again searching for partners who could help them with their India strategy.

[Source: Economictimes.indiatimes.com]

VW is planning an onslaught to reach numero uno title and so far things seem to be on track. The group owns few of the most profitable brands such as Porsche, Skoda, Seat and Audi and is expanding its footprint throughout the globe at a breath taking pace.

With VW planning to sell 10 million vehicles annually by 2018, it will be hard for smaller manufacturers like Fiat-Chrysler to sustain themselves in the market. Thus, in order to fight the VW group, Fiat is planning to tie up with France’s PSA Peugeot-Citroen. So far, it seems the only hope for survival.

In a modern market where consumers are constantly searching for something new and exciting, research cost spiral high. To offset the research cost and to achieve economies of scale, manufacturers join hands. A leading example is Renault-Nissan partnership which (when combined) is one of the top 5 auto manufacturer in the world.

Fiat and PSA almost seem like a match made in heaven. While Fiat suffers from excess capacity, PSA production is spread among French plants that are too small and costly to stay profitable in the event of a price war. Both the automakers could benefit in the longer term from pooling their strongest products.

What are your thoughts on the partnership?

Source: AutoNews

Cars displayed are the ones heading initially towards Indian shores – 3008 hybrid4, RCZ, 3008 crossover and 908 LeMans car

Peugeot has taken inspiration from its neighbors – Precision from Switzerland, Quality from Germany with French style and flair

High-end racing is a part of DNA of Peugeot [908 race car showcased]

Peugeot 908 has won 12/14 races it participated in a prestigious racing series

Launches of Indian cars will start in the latter half of 2013

Peugeot 508 is the first of the cars to be assembled and available in India

Peugeot will use top-down strategy

508 is for the young customer looking for luxury and performance

Peugeot at Auto Expo 2012 Image Slideshow

Can’t see slideshow above? Head to the Peugeot Flickr Image Gallery page

To start off with, Peugeot will use the same ‘top-down approach’ that Renault used to enter India. Essentially, the more expensive cars will be launched first to create brand awareness and publicity and then the smaller hatchbacks will target the mass market audience. The first will be 508 sedan which will be a D+ sedan aimed at Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry, the Volkswagen Passat and the Skoda Superb.  Considering the 508 will be a CBU, it is sure to touch 20-30 lakh brackets.

Peugeot will also showcase the RCZ sports coupe to give a glimpse of their technological prowess. The RCZ is powered by 1.6 litre petrol engine or a 2.0 litre diesel engine and has a very expressive design language.

We are not sure whether the 207 hatchback will be present at the expo as the successor 208 has already been launched in the international markets.