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One of Europe's sexiest sedans, the Peugeot 407, has gotten a mid-life boost. Besides some aesthetic tweaks, Peugeot has updated the 2.0-liter HDi 140 engine with a 6-speed manual gearbox which develops 140hp - an increase of 4hp over the previous HDi 136. It also benefits from lower fuel consumption, at 49.5 mpg imperial (41 mpg U.S. or 5.7 l/100 km) and CO₂ emissions have been reduced to 150 g/km. It also gets a Diesel Particulate Filter (nicknamed FAP at Peugeot) as standard. The FAP is also available on the 1.6-liter 110hp base diesel model. Two additional diesels, a 170hp and a V6, remain available. All PSA diesel engines built after 1998 are certified to use biodiesel blends up to 30 percent. For flex-fuel lovers, Peugeot is offering a new 2.0-litre 'Bioflex' engine that can burn E85 fuel starting in November. Full UK press release after the jump.



[Source: Peugeot]

Peugeot has just released a group of teaser images of the new concept it will be unveiling at the Paris Motor Show in October. The RC is a four door, four seat coupe that features a hybrid powertrain. Peugeot hasn't provided any other details yet, but the previous RC Spade and RC Diamond concepts from 2002 and the 908 RC from 2006 were all diesel powered. Considering that Peugeot runs diesels in the Le Mans Series and previously showed a 308 diesel hybrid, it seems a safe bet that the new concept will also use a similar setup. Peugeot claims an output of 313hp and carbon dioxide emissions of 109 g/km when running in hybrid mode.


[Source: Peugeot]

Last March, Peugeot brought its diesel-powered 908 HDi LMP1 prototype to Sebring for its first race outside of Europe as a warm up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Peugeot demonstrated some amazing speed compared to its German rival - the defending champion Audi R10 TDI - but wasn't quite robust enough to last on the bumpy Sebring circuit. Peugeot has decided to return to North America in October for the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Peugeot is bringing two cars this time around and they will be challenging Audi, Porsche and Acura, not only for the overall victory but also for the Green Challenge. The Atlanta race will be the debut of ALMS' Green Challenge which will award points on formula based on fuel efficiency, and total net carbon emissions. The car with the best combination of low carbon footprint and performance will win. Next year ALMS will run the Green Challenge throughout the entire season. In the meantime, this race should prove to be another epic between the French and German diesels.

[Source: American Le Mans Series]

Click on the Blue Lion Peugeot for a high res gallery

Continuing the recent European theme of "blue is the new green", Peugeot is adding Blue Lion editions to many of its most popular models. Like VW's BlueMotion models, the Blue Lion editions are tuned to minimize emissions of carbon dioxide. To qualify for the Blue Lion branding models have to emit less than 130 g/km of CO₂, be 95 percent recyclable at end of life and be built in a factory that is ISO 14001 certified. Peugeot claims to have fifty models of its cars right now that meet the 130 g/km of CO₂ standard although its not clear how many of them will meet the other criteria for Blue Lion certification.


[Source: Peugeot]

The Morrisons supermarket chain in the UK are now offering B30 biodiesel at 50 of the filling stations it operates. The blend of 30 percent biodiesel and 70 percent petro-diesel is one of the highest commercially available concentrations that is actually approved by an automaker. Peugeot and Citroen have certified all the diesel vehicles it has built for the past decade for use with B30. An estimated 1.5 million HDi models from Puegeot/Citroen are warrantied for use with the newly available fuel. The biofuel component of the fuel being offered by Morrisons is comprised of equal parts waste vegetable oil and rapeseed (canola) oil. Ford has not determined whether the diesel engines that it has jointly developed with Peugeot are capable of operating safely on B30.

[Source: AutoCar]

Allied Vehicles has announced they will debut their electric E7 taxi at the upcoming British International Motor Show (BIMS). The company has been building taxis for some time now and are already quite familiar with the Peugeot E7 platform. They also build wheelchair accessible vehicles and have incorporated this ability into their taxi as well. It will join other electric vehicles in the increasingly crowded "Electric Vehicle Village" at BIMS and stay on display for the length of the show.

Currently there is some kind of red-tape technicality with Transport for London's taxi licensing division, the Public Carriage Office, keeping it from the capitol-city streets. However, it should be available for other municipalities by October of this year. The lithium-ion batteries are being supplied by Axeon and should give the cab a 100 mile range and a 60 mph top speed. That's a little faster top end than the TX4E hack that is planned for the UK for 2009. The price tag should read £39,450 ($78,759.51). Considering it comes with a 2-year unlimited mileage warranty on the base vehicle from Peugeot and a 6-year warranty on the battery, comparatively negligible fuel costs and wheelchair accessibility, we think this is one amazing deal.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

The British Motor Show is coming up later this month and Peugeot is planning to shine the spotlight on its most efficient and least polluting vehicles. Drivers in London, in particular, have to deal with congestion charges if they have to go into the central part of the city but they are exempted if the cars they drive emit fewer than 120g/km of carbon dioxide. Low-emitting cars like this also get a break on national road taxes. As a result, companies like Peugeot have been trying to create models specifically to meet this standard. The diminutive 107 KISS SE only has to pay about $70/year in road tax. Peugeot will also be showcasing the 908 HDi Le Mans racer and the 308 RCZ concept. For those of you in the UK who attend the show, you can quench your thirst at a free water bar at the Peugeot stand.

[Source: Peugeot]

While sales in other countries have mostly fallen in recent months, French car dealers are happy right now. With an overall first half of the year increase of 4.5 percent, small and mini cars have led the way with a 15 percent jump in France. Small cars now comprise nearly half of all new car sales and French brands Renault and Peugeot/Citroen have grabbed 60 percent of that segment. The new French tax schemes add extra fees to vehicles that emit more CO₂ while buyers of cleaner cars actually get money back. Buyers of cars that emit less than 130g/km of CO₂ are eligible for rebates ranging from 200 Euros to 5,000 Euros for low or zero emissions vehicles. Cars that emit from 160g/km to 250g/km of CO₂ face taxes of 200-2,600 Euros.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

Every time an automaker announces a green signature label, one of the factory-installed features to reduce fuel consumption is probably low-rolling resistance tires. French magazine Autoplus did a test drive on a regular car, to see how much fuel these tires save. The magazine wanted to run the test because France is considering adopting a bonus/malus system on these tires for 2010, whereby tires that save fuel would get a tax exemption.

For the challenge, Autoplus got two Peugeot 308s, one fueled by gasoline and the other fueled by diesel, and they kept on changing their tires. They tested fuel consumption with regular tires and with "CO₂ reducing tires." Their verdict? Keep security in mind. Only low-rolling resistance tires that came from well-known brands (Michelin, Goodyear, Continental and Pirelli) performed correctly and kept braking distances and other security features almost intact. Their winner was Michelin (which are made in France) which stayed safe while offering fuel savings of 1 percent with gasoline and 3.8 with diesel fuel. Of course, it doesn't matter if your tires are lrr type or not - keep them properly inflated.

[Source: Autoplus]

We heard yesterday about reports in a Japanese newspaper that PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation would be working together on electric cars. Today, Mitsubishi and Peugeot released a statement describing their joint efforts, and it gives us a better idea of what we can expect:

• The project "will run over several months, relates to the development, the manufacture and the use of an electric powertrain for small urban vehicles."
• Working on EVs together " would be mutually beneficial."

The full details are available after the jump. PSA will bring its experience with EVs and electric powertrains to the joint effort, and Mitsubishi will contribute work from its Lithium Energy Japan joint venture (with GS Yuasa) "which is to supply large capacity and high performance lithium ion batteries for the i MiEV" (above). But wait, "over several months"? Is that all? Does this mean we're close to seeing results or just that the two companies only want to share a little bit of their own information?

In honor of its almost all-conquering 908 HDi diesel race car, Peugeot has decided to create a limited edition 207 Le Mans. Like the big gun 908, the 207 will only be powered by 1.6L diesel engines with a choice of two power levels. The lesser engine will be rated at 110hp while the more sporting edition rates 175hp. The 2,000 European customers who get their hands on a 207 Le Mans also get to select from Banquise White and Obsidien Black. Like the race cars, the 207 gets a longitudinal red stripe on its nose. The little 207 gets big 17" wheels and assorted badging including a number plate on the steering wheel.

[Source: CarScoop]

If you have the 24 hours of Le Mans on your DVR and don't want to know which diesel crew landed at the top of the podium then don't follow the jump. If you want to know who covered the most distance today go right ahead.

Do you have a small family and a dog? For many Europeans in that or a similar situation, station wagons are the ride of choice, despite the SUV and minivan craze. Buying a station wagon often means that you're buying a fuel efficient vehicle which can carry lots of stuff, and some of these vehicles can even seat seven. The key to an fuel-saving family hauler is finding that elusive combination of being compact in size, roomy inside and fitted to a efficient powertrain. Compact minivans, SUVs and CUVs sometimes fit these qualifications, as we discussed when we posed a list of European fuel saving people carriers. That list included some station wagons that seat seven, and today's list expands on that and shows the 20 most fuel-efficient station wagons on sale in Europe. Don't think all of them are made by European automakers. Find the full list after the jump.

The iMiEV, the production car based on the Nissan Mixim, (EDIT: badly worded and wrong), and who knows what other goodies became a little bit more real today with the report in the Nikkei business daily newspaper that Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot Citroen will work together on electric vehicles. The two companies will share technology, particularly about next-gen lithium-ion batteries. Nikkei said that Mitsubishi will offer PSA information on how best to convert electricity to drive power and how to prevent overheating in the batteries. According to Reuters, the two companies may also form a joint venture to build EVs. Mitsubishi had no official statement for Nikkei, but we do know that PSA and Mitsubishi recently announced a joint plant in Russia.

[Source: Reuters]

PSA and Mitsubishi have officially laid the first foundation stone of their €470 million joint plant in Russia, located in Kaluga, 180km south-west of Moscow. The plant, which is being built on a 200 ha plot, is expected to produce 160,000 vehicles per year from 2011. Which models? Basically, Peugeot and Citroën C-Segment cars (current models are the the 308 and the C4) but also a compact SUV/crossover which will be sold under the Peugeot, Citroën and Mitsubishi brands (currently named 4007, C-Crosser and Outlander, respectively). The cars are intended for the Russian market and not scheduled for export. PSA builds some of the most advanced diesel powertrains available, named HDI, which are also installed in Minis and Fords. Russia is also one of the main energy suppliers to the EU. Mitsubishi's full press release after the jump.