“We have no plans to go retro in our future vehicles.”
In his new CEO job since the beginning of February, Alain Favey has taken the helm of Peugeot after three decades in the industry: 20 years at Citroen, then in various brands within the Volkswagen group (VW, Porsche, Skoda and Bentley) and then the Europcar mobility group (also part of Volkswagen). In this first interview as head of Peugeot, he outlines the short and medium -term future for the French car brand.
What was your first perception of Peugeot’s situation when you just started as CEO a few months ago?
Alain Favey: I think Peugeot is in a very positive situation and I am optimistic about his future despite the upcoming challenges. The multi-energy strategy has proven to be the right strategy for star ships in general and for Peugeot in particular, since the transition to e-mobility takes far longer than the expected optimistic visions. I also see many new ideas in Peugeot so that we can continue our hundred years of tradition to be innovative. Our I-Cockpit was a big breakthrough in terms of interior design and developed from its first version. The exterior design of our cars is probably one of the betting for the mainstream car brands in Europe. With regard to customer care, we are also very geared towards making the difference in initiatives such as the “Allure Care” through which we use the customer’s trust in electric vehicles by granting you the 8-year guarantee for BEV in most European countries.
In the recent past, Peugeot has confronted some problems with the drive strand quality that can damage their customer’s trust. Are you already fighting this serious problem?
Alain Favey: This is the first element to focus on my attention, since the unusual quality problems that we have had in recent years with some of our drive trains endanger everything else that we did well. For this reason, we have expanded the guarantee on the pureetech engines to 10 years so that we can regain the trust of the customer base. We are once again connected to customers, dealer network, suppliers, media, etc. VigorRoots and culture that are our essence.
What can we expect in the next few years with regard to the product pipeline?
Alain Favey: The 3008 and 5008 lists are expanded by adding the plug-in hybrid drive strands of the new generation, which are made a significant contribution to bridging the brand until the EV is here. The 5008 5008 will come shortly and complements the 7-seater, which was launched from the 1st day On the E-208 range with all its charisma and sub-brand values that we like to be. In this way we will show that we will also embody motorsport on the street with electric drive lines. And the facelift of the 308, later this year, will also be a milestone for us. In the second half of 2025 we will also show a very important concept car that leaves very strong indications of the development of our design language.
So that means that you believe that there is room for the GTI badge itself in a world of EV?
Alain Favey: We believe that the GTI soul can also live in an electric car, yes. We will start with the 208 – already in the current generation car – but there may be other applications that are not yet included in our pipeline.
Since Peugeot improved his brand image, it seems that they could venture into a higher market segment. Is that on your agenda?
Alain Favey: As we see ourselves as the upper mainstream car brand, it is definitely useful to look into the upper C or even D segment and find the Peugeot formula for it.
Go to the other end of the market spectrum … How does Peugeot answer Renault, Citroen and the Chinese brands, which are now coming with the first 20,000 to 25,000 eV? And will the future 208 be its first car with just one electrical version?
Alain Favey: The successor of 208 is still two years later and it is still early to provide more detailed information. It starts as a BEV, yes. And we are already present in the market segment of 30,000 euros BEV with the current e-208 (note: Peugeot reduced the price of the E-208 by 6,000 euros to 28,000 euros, even above the cheapest new EV from the competition, but a car with more quality, more space and larger range).
Peugeot increased the turnover of EV (by 11% to 83,000 units) in 2024, but the E-208 and the E-2008 are slowed down (-23% or -10% compared to 2024), which is normal due to the life cycle. You explained that Peugeot wants to be the mainstream brand in Europe. Can you quantify what this means and is the fact that these two bestsellers fade away your EV wax plans before 2027/28 if the successors are likely to start E-208 and E-2008?
Alain Favey: Our goal is to increase the EV mix and leadership of the leadership in our segments on the European EV market, which means a comprehensive focus on performance in terms of sales, market share and customer satisfaction. This not only includes the number of EVS sold, but also offers a wide range of appealing electrical models that deal for various customer needs. The market share and the EV share will be a consequence for how well we do our job and how much the charging infrastructure develops.
But what about the A segment between 10,000 and 17,000 euros, which were very relevant in Europe and have almost disappeared in the past five to ten years? No successors for the 106/107/108?
Alain Favey: The 208 is our entry -level car, and we do not intend to go under this market segment, which basically disappeared. This customer is now basically served by our initiatives on the used car market, which we have increased significantly. For Peugeot, the future of the new car market with a more modern state of the art vehicles begins at a higher price level.
The 3008 and 5008, on the other hand, are with full steam with sales increases of over 30% in the first quarter of 2025. Most likely you will reduce the volume of sales and enjoy higher profit margins, which is not a bad place where you can be.
Alain Favey: The C segment is of crucial importance for us, and since the 3008-5008 areas naturally sound the sales figures. This will apply in the next many months and bring us a positive dynamic.
You mentioned tradition and innovation during this interview. And this coexistence can be clearly seen in the GTI brand and in the French Vigor You would like to inject your cars that cross with some futuristic technologies such as the hyper-square steering wheel and other technologies. Will we see Peugeot going? Retro At some point under your leadership, like her competitors Renault with the R5 and R4, but also with Fiat who used the Panda type in the past in a completely different way?
Alain Favey: Peugeot has always been about evolution, disorders, but everyone deals with the values of the brand. When you go to our museum, you really see that the Peugeot family produces steel parts, saws, pepper grinders, bicycles and of course cars. In the past, we have always promoted our good ideas and products at Peugeot and used them according to the best possible use. But without drastic disorders. At this point we do not intend to go retro because we believe that there are far better ways to dedicate homage and benefit from the legacy that makes Peugeot what it is.
How do you see the more flexible EU CO2 goals that you can now follow two years later than originally planned? Did the news about this higher flexibility cause a strategy adjustment for you?
Alain Favey: Well, there is no change in the CO2 emission figures that we have to achieve, it is only the timeline that has become more flexible. This also came in the line with what the load infrastructure is and how the development it needs so that the EV becomes more of a rule than the exception.
