Peugeot 308 Sedan Spyshots

Another new sedan from Peugeot, spied in China. If you are wondering isn't the 408 already known as the 308 sedan, we encourage you to read on. The 308 sedan is another example of Chinese consumers driving new product development at major OEMs. China is a predominantly sedan dominated market. The Peugeot 207, Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2, all had sedan variants of the hatchback developed mainly to cater to Chinese demands.

The 308 sedan is expected to debut in China by 2012, sold by PSA's Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile (DPCA). In fact, Peugeot's first model in the post Deng Xiaoping economic reform China is a 307 sedan (launched in 2004). So unlike consumers in other markets who expect Peugeots to be hatchbacks, Chinese consumers are quite comfortable with a Peugeot sedan.

And now to clear up the Peugeot sedan models naming confusion. A lot of websites and Internet forums refer to the 408 as a 308 sedan, probably because the 408 shares a lot of styling elements from the 308. But this is an incorrect assumption. The misunderstanding is particularly notable in markets that never had / consumers are not aware of the 307 sedan's existence. Peugeot's official press materials never refer to the 408 as a sedan version of the 308 hatch. The real 308 sedan is meant to replace an existing 307 sedan model, which is currently still on sale in China alongside its 307 hatchback twin.

Generally, all sedan equivalents of Peugeot's hatchback models are based on the previous outgoing generation model, but skinned with present generation Peugeot corporate fascia and styling elements.

For example, the 207 sedan is a development of the previous generation 206. The 207 sedan is also a replacement model for the 206 sedan, which was first made in Iran. Likewise, the 308 sedan is a development of the 307. The first 307 sedan, is itself based on a stretched 306 hatchback. To put it in simple terms :
206 sedan -> 207 sedan
307 sedan -> 308 sedan
408 sedan - New entry to M1 premium segment 

207 sedan, based on a stretched 206 hatch

307 sedan, based on a stretched 306 hatch. Peugeot's first product for China

408 sedan, based on a stretched 307 hatch

 

Generally, Peugeot models (except RCZ, which uses alphabetical name) use numerical names with the following logic :
x0z, with x referring to the vehicle body size and z referring to the vehicle generation. The "0" (or "00") in the middle signifies that it is a Peugeot model.

So far so good. Things only got confusing when Peugeot decided to discontinue its slow selling 607 (600 series name refers to Peugeot's large sedans), and revive the 500 series nameplate (last used by the 506). The executive sedan product positioning filled by the current 407 will be replaced by the newly launched 508. In other words, the 508 will inherit the current 407's marketing communication theme. But the 408, despite having a similar name and similar size, is not meant to fill the 407's shoes.

With the 407 replacement (508) pushed further upmarket, there is now a big gap between 300 series cars and 500 series cars. In comes the 408 and 308 sedan. The 408 is not really a C-segment sedan in a conventional sense. The 408 measures 4680mm long, well ahead of the 4540mm length of a Toyota Corolla Altis. Thus, the 408 isn't really gunning for the same buyers as a Toyota Corolla Altis or Honda Civic. Rather, the 408 straddles between C-D segment. According to Peugeot's press release, the 408 competes in the Chinese market M1 entry level premium segment. Such product strategy makes sense in China, whose huge sedan market allows for greater product proliferation. Although it is left to be seen if such product strategy works in our market. The local Peugeot distributor, Nasim Sdn. Bhd. is expected to launch the 408, often referred by Nasim as T73 sedan, before the end of this year.

VW in China follows the same product strategy, using both the Lavida (developed by VW's Chinese engineers specifically for China) and Sagitar (Jetta, Golf sedan) to form a two-pronged attack at both ends of the sedan segment. The 408 competes with the larger Lavida as well as GM's Buick Excelle GT/XT while the 308 sedan deals with the smaller Sagitar (Jetta, a Golf sedan), GM's smaller Buick Excelle as well as the Toyota Corolla Altis and Honda Civic.

As mentioned earlier, sedan variants of Peugeot hatchbacks are a development of the previous generation hatchback model. Thus, the 308 sedan is not going to feature the famed BMW-PSA developed turbocharged Prince engine. Rather, it will carry over the 307's 1.6-liter engine and 2.0-liter petrol engine, similar to the current engine powering the 408 sedan. But there are rumours that Dongfeng Peugeot will introduce a turbocharged 1.6-liter petrol engine for both the 408 and 308 sedan by its mid-life cycle facelift timing, but stop short of confirming if this is the Prince unit.

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