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Peugeot reaches back to a stroke of genius

Peugeot208GTiconcept2
Dare we hope that the 208GTi concept can recapture the 205's magic?

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19 June 2012

Can the 208GTi concept recapture the 205's magic? Ralph is very excited

Blog: RALPH MORTON

Tim Zimmerman – newly appointed Peugeot MD – has just returned to these shores from his Peugeot posting in China.

And he’s walked into something of a dream situation. The company is launching its 208 supermini.

The Peugeot 208 has a glorious heritage, stretching back to the iconic 205 GTI. What a car! And while Tim won’t be drawn on the timing of a 208 GTI, the car must surely be coming – roaring? – over the horizon soon.

"We've been redefining the brand" says new MD Tim Zimmerman

I had the chance to meet Tim over dinner at the media launch of the Peugeot 208. “We are taking unprecedented orders for a car that customers have not had a chance to drive yet. We didn’t even have that for the original 205,” he told me.

It’s certainly an upturn for the brand, which was once the byword for company car drivers wanting a driver’s car rather than a standard Ford or Vauxhall choice, but had drifted badly off the radar with indifferent products in the recent past.

Until now. Peugeot is rediscovering its mojo.

I asked Tim why he thought there were suddenly a queue of buyers lining up for the new Peugeot 208?

“I think we’ve been redefining or regenerating the brand since the Peugeot 3008 and 508 have been launched. As well as that, people have taken note of the quality of the 508 which is really excellent. But none of these is a volume product like the 208.

The 208 is the first car Gilles Vidal has seen right through the design process

“But the key thing for me is that this is the first car our new design director, Gilles Vidal, has seen right through the design process. And he went back to the car’s 205 roots, found the DNA and put it in the new 208.”

The firm’s rival to the Ford Fiesta and VW Polo certainly looks attractive, compact on the outside and spacious on the inside. And the fact that it’s managed to woo buyers already suggests the 208 really has captured something of the 205’s magic.

"He went back to the car's 205 roots, found the DNA, and put it in the new 208"

Which is good news for you and your company. It’s a long time since business car managers could include a Peugeot on the choice list. But from what I’ve seen already, here’s a car to stand shoulder to shoulder with a Ford Fiesta and VW Polo.

Welcome back Tim to the UK. And welcome back Peugeot to the business car market.

Also read

Our road test editor Sam Hardy has driven the 208 already – see what he thinks of the car here: Added allure for new Peugeot supermini 

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Matt Morton

Matt Morton

Matt Morton is an automotive content writer for Business Car Manager

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