KEY POINTS:
French carmaker Peugeot is counting on its strong heritage in New Zealand to help it muscle into new markets.
It has adopted a self-styled banner for inspiration as it seeks to expand: "Do we change with the market, or change the market?"
The company has pretty much dropped
the executive 607 large sedan from its line-up and will look more at growing current and new derivatives of its core models, from the small 207 hatchback through to the facelifted 407 sedan and wagon.
"Peugeot has always been known for its smaller vehicles," says Peugeot NZ divisional manager Simon Rose.
"We have to be realistic about what segments of the market we go into."
New ground for the carmaker is the light commercial sector, with a sliding-door delivery van called the Partner, powered by a 1.6-litre turbodiesel unit and priced at $36,990.
"The used import market has dropped away in part because of new government regulations on emissions and we see commercial opportunities for the Partner," said Rose.
Government departments have been looking at the Partner and its low-emissions engine.
Peugeot is also going into the crossover segment with its 4007 and 3008. The all-wheel-drive 4007 shares its platform with the top-selling Mitsubishi Outlander and will go on sale here in September, conditionally priced from $59,990.
"We've based prices for all our vehicles on the current exchange rate with the euro and we are doing our best to minimise the effect of the currency exchange," said Rose.
The 4007 is powered by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel mated to a six-speed sequential automatic driving all four wheels. It has been available overseas for some time but Peugeot will bring in the facelifted version.
The engine is a joint development with Ford. "It gives us a diesel which Mitsubishi doesn't have," said Rose.
"There's also a seven-seat option."
The smaller 3008 crossover with its full glass roof will also arrive later in the year but probably won't go on sale until next January. It's a higher-riding version of the 308 SW five-door and gets a fold-down rear tailgate. No prices yet.
The carmaker's new standout model is the 308 CC, a folding tin-top coupe/convertible priced from $59,990 and on sale here in June.
It gets a 2-litre turbodiesel unit developing 100kW at 400rpm and 320Nm of torque at 2000rpm and driving the front wheels via a six-speed automatic with manual mode.
Peugeot claims town-and-around fuel consumption of 7 litres/100km (40mpg) and CO2 exhaust emissions of 185gr/km.
"The 308 CC is the very important image car for the whole brand," said Rose. "It makes a stand as the first diesel coupe/convertible on the market in New Zealand.
"We do have access to the petrol version but the diesel and its six-speed gearbox makes sense because the powertrain is available across the Peugeot range."
It's also one of the best engine-gearbox couplings on the market.
