Indian Autos blog

The French car manufacturer has finalized a land in Gujarat for their state of the art manufacturing facility and is finally knocking on the doors to enter the market. The company will use the Auto expo as a platform to showcase their products which will be launched in the coming years. To start off with, Peugeot will use the same ‘top-down approach’ that Renault used to enter India. Essentially, the  [ Read More ]

Peugeot’s rigorous testing program for the 207 carries on as IAB reader Sujit found out while driving in Pune. The 3-door version is not a good idea for India as attendance is mostly full in the rear seats of Indian car owners.

We like to travel with our relatives and many of us are part of joint families. Providing them a makeshift entrance by liberating space between the B-Pillar and a reclined seat is not the best way to welcome them into their newest family member. Further, many Indians appoint chauffeurs or pass on driving responsibilities to younger members in the family. In this case, the aged person experience difficulty in settling down at the back.

Peugeot is in the process of building the Gujarat production facility and as there is no plan for a joint production facility to roll the cars out of, the mini Peugeots will not hit the Indian roads till 2013.

Peugeot Citroen has identified Gujarat as a conducive atmosphere for their India chapter. The vehicle that will introduce Peugeot in India or re-introduce Peugeot in India is the 508 sedan. Since production facilities are work in progress, the initial pool of products like the 508 will be fully imported.

Once the plant is up and running affordable hatchbacks and sedans will be manufactured. The story is very similar to Nissan or Volkswagen who started their journey in India with CBUs and filtered down to lower segments.

Seen testing here is the Peugeot 207 in Pune by our reader Chaitanya in Pune. Peugeot could be testing the 207′s performance in Indian conditions and learn about their car’s compatibility levels on Indian pot holes, dust and heat. There is no confirmation on the 207′s introduction in India.

Peugeot is not good at keeping secrets inferred through the unmasked cars running around India. The 207 is sold with 1.4-liter petrol engine overseas with the most powerful 1.6 churning out 175hp. The India spec 207 needs to have sub-1.5 liter diesel to make inroads.

Update – We’re still not very sure about our Peugeot and can be forgiven as they are a new company. The car in the image is the 207 hatchback and not 206 as we wrote earlier.

NDTV Car and Bike Show fan Ritesh Rasane caught the Peugeot 207 and 508 parked in a basement of a building in Pune. Since the snap was taken at night, the images aren’t all that clear. IndianAutosBlog.com has already brought you crystal clear images of these two cars testing in Pune earlier this week.

The Peugeot 207 looks like an able competitor to the Hyundai i20 and Volkswagen Polo. We’re not sure where this car will be built given Peugeot is still in the process of identifying a location for its plant. To avoid any further delays, Peugeot can launch one or two CBU models and build a rudimentary dealer network. This was Volkswagen’s and Nissan’s strategy in India until their mass market products were ready.

Peugeot 207 Petrol Engines

1.4 vti 95 bhp
1.6 vti 120 bhp

Peugeot 207 Diesel Engines

• 1.4 litre 70 hp
• 1.6 litre HDi with intercooler producing 90 or 110 hp

The second car spotted in the parking lot is the 508 – a D segment product that can be assembled locally/imported to lock horns with the Honda Accord and Skoda Superb. It is fitted with a 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine generating 201 bhp, mated to both manual and automatic gearboxes.

Apart from style, what else can Peugeot add to the Indian auto industry?

Rejoice petrolheads! Peugeot has started testing its products in India. On a popular forum – Team-bhp, pics have emerged of Peugeot test mules doing rounds on the expressway. Peugeot Citroen was in the news recently for planning an India foray. They also announced that they will be setting up a plant Chennai. But little did we know that they have started testing their cars in India. A new brand entering India is quite a momentous occasion so without wasting much time lets get down to analyzing what’s what?

We start of with the pic of the Peugeot 207 – a supermini from the Peugeot stable. This car was launched in 2006 in Europe and is a successor to the 206. It built on the same platform as the C3. Once can avail of 207 in petrol and diesel versions. The range of engine options available are:

Petrol
• 1.4 vti with 95 bhp
• 1.6 vti with 120 bhp
• Two turbocharged and intercooled engines with 150 bhp and 175 bhp

Diesel
• 1.4 litre 70 hp
• 1.6 litre HDi with intercooler with 90 or 110 hp

We really don’t know whether this is the petrol or a diesel. Let’s hope that Peugeot is testing both

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Our pals over at IndianCarsBikes.in have snapped the Peugeot 207 and 508 on test. Both these cars are testing in Indian conditions to see if any changes have to be done to their suspension, air conditioner and other mechanicals. Companies usually jack up the suspension, program the ECU to cope with low fuel quality and tinker the AC settings to cope with Indian summers.

Will Peugeot introduce the 508 (left) in India as a CBU? Bringing the hatchback through the CBU route is suicidal. With dazzling interiors and a french design, the 508 feels like it can take on the Skoda Superb and Honda Accord without hard work.

Musketier comes up with its new performance kit for the Peugeot 207 and is labeled as ‘EnGarde’. It comes with a all new Front and rear bumper with a sporty spoiler fitted on it. The package also includes a 17″ chrome alloys and an integrated exhaust system. The entire kit costs around 1,500 euros even though you can make some customization in it.