Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson recently told Autocar it wouldn't expand the PSE line-up past the 508Saloon and estate will bow out after six years, meaning every Peugeot can be had as an EV
The Peugeot 508 will be axed in December, Autocar can reveal.
The French manufacturer attributed the cancellation of the executive saloon and estate to the UK government's introduction of the zero-emission vehicle mandate.
In a statement supplied to Autocar, it said: “We have chosen to focus even further on our electric models in the UK, with the ZEV mandate giving us a clear direction to do this.
“As a result of this, every one of Peugeot’s passenger cars is now available in both battery-electric and hybrid powertrains.”
The move is almost certainly a product of the 508’s poor sales too. Since 2019, its first full year on sale, Peugeot has delivered only around 7000 examples in the UK. Last year, fewer than 700 left showrooms.
Peugeot will offer the 508 exclusively as a plug-in hybrid in GT trim until its demise later this year.
That means the Peugeot Sport Engineered (PSE) sub-brand is effectively dead in the UK, just four years after the 508 PSE was launched.
The 355bhp PHEV arrived in saloon and estate forms in late 2020 but failed to attract significant demand, even after last year’s facelift.
The move puts PSE’s future into further doubt, with the only other car to use the branding, the 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar, having scored only one podium in the World Endurance Championship over the past two years.
Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson recently poured cold water on the prospect of expanding the PSE line-up, telling Autocar: “To be honest, we thought about [expanding the range] but then the prioritisation came into play, and this is all about electrification.”
Jackson added that “you have to make your priorities”, with Peugeot instead focusing on offering more electric cars.
“At the end of the day, this is all about building awareness, and also engineering and durability, which you can do without necessarily having a road car,” said Jackson.
Her comments mirror those of marketing chief Phil York, who in March told Autocar: “I think we've activated it quite strongly across our marketing communications activity, and that's really where we're leveraging.
“It's an opportunity for us to talk to a younger customer base. We had content creators at Le Mans last year. We've done sales activations across all of our markets, so really it's about raising brand visibility, familiarity and resonating with people who aren't necessarily interested in motorsport, getting them interested in what we're doing. That's the critical lever, if I put my marketing hat on.”
As previously reported by Autocar, however, the 508 will be reprised for a third generation. It will be heavily restyled and repositioned in a bid to boost its popularity.
