Peugeot Citroen Australia has indicated it’s now in the final evaluation stages of bringing the e-208 electric hatchback to Australia.
The roughly Toyota Yaris-sized electric hatch could launch later this year.
Peugeot Citroen Australia managing director Kate Gillis had confirmed to CarExpert last November the company would have electrified versions of passenger, SUV and light commercial vehicle nameplates in 2023.
The local division has since confirmed the e-Partner electric van is coming mid-year, and the e-2008 electric small SUV is due in the third quarter of 2023.
“The e-208 is in the final stages of evaluation,” said Inchcape national corporate affairs and public relations manager Chloe Fraser. Inchcape is Peugeot’s local distributor.
“So stay tuned, there should be more information shared shortly.”
The Peugeot e-208 has been on sale for a number of years in other markets and recently received a raft of updates for the 2023 model year.
It’s unclear if the updated model will be coming to Australia, but it will mark the first time the current-generation 208 will be offered locally in any form.
Some highlights of this update include a new, more efficient 51kWh (48.1kWh usable) 400V battery pack, and a new 115kW/260Nm electric motor (up 15kW).
Peugeot claims the e-208 has an electric range of “up to 400 kilometres” on the WLTP cycle. The e-208’s previous range claim was 362 kilometres.
The company previously enhanced the e-208 in late 2021, adding 22km more range than the original version launched in 2019 through a heat pump and humidity sensor, a different tyre compound, and a revised transmission ratio.
The Peugeot e-208 has been a sales success for the brand in various parts of Europe, and is itself part of one of the most popular model ranges in the region.
In September last year the company said almost 110,000 e-208 vehicles had been produced since it was launched in 2019, and it was the top-selling electric vehicle (EV) across all segments in its home market of France.
Beyond the e-208, Ms Gillis said the local division has “a number of full electric [models], which we have got under consideration at the minute”.
Ms Gillis didn’t provide a list of these EVs, but said the e-Expert electric mid-size van is under evaluation.
Globally the company also offers the recently announced e-308 electric hatch, e-Rifter and e-Traveller electric people movers, as well as the e-Boxer large electric van.
MORE: Everything Peugeot 208
