An open secret, but finally, with official confirmation from the company.
The automotive group Stellantis has assigned the production of the electric Peugeot 208 to the Aragonese plant in Figueruelasas confirmed by the general director of the French brand, Linda Jackson, to a small group of media, among which was elEconomista.es.
What’s more, the head of Peugeot He announced that this week he would visit the Zaragoza factory with his team. Thus, this compact joins the also ‘zero emissions’ Opel Corsa or Lancia Ypsilon, which will arrive by 2024, with which it will share the new STLA Small platform from Stellantis for electric vehicles, which offers up to 500 km of autonomy. As announced by the consortium more than two years ago, this platform will serve models up to almost 4.4 meters long. Some dimensions that cover segments A, B and C of the market.
Its production will begin in November of this same year. What’s more, the French manufacturer opened orders for the compact in the Spanish market last week. It has a starting price of 20,100 euros, while the fully electric version can be purchased from 35,100 euros.
The compact 208 from the French manufacturer is one of the best-selling models in Europe last year. And it managed to unseat the Volkswagen Golf as the most sold model in Europe for 14 years, after registering more than 206,000 units (+5%) in 2022.
The assignment of this model to a national factory has not been easy, but Spain has managed to win the game against France. The French Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, asked the CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, in July to relocate small electric models (including the 208).
Given Tavares’ refusal, the Government of Spain came out in defense of production and investments in our country. Specifically, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, stressed that the Figueruelas plant has achieved “quality results, energy efficiency, productivity and social climate that make it the most competitive candidate.”
Likewise, Stellantis is pending the aid you will receive from the second call of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of the Electric and Connected Vehicle (Perte_VEC), which closed its window last Friday.
In the first Perte_VEC, the group presented two different projects for its Figueruelas factories (Tesis Project), on the one hand; and Vigo and Madrid (Aries Project), on the other. Finally, the manufacturer received 67.36 million euros in aid for all of them.
2008 production
On the other hand, when asked about the 2008 SUV, which is currently manufactured at Stellantis Vigo, Jackson wanted to highlight the importance of the Galician plant for the consortium and pointed out that They will introduce a soft hybridization mechanic, which, in their opinion, gives “some certainty.”
Despite this, it did not reveal plans for a new generation, which could arrive from 2025, since the model is in the middle of its production cycle. In addition, the SUV, which also has an electric version, has just been redesigned. “We have a lot of confidence in him,” said the board. And, due to size, this SUV would fit on the STLA Small platform that arrives in Zaragoza.
The 2008 belongs to segment B, in which, according to Jackson, they are already leaders. So, Peugeot will focus its offensive on the C segment, with up to five new models electric (the E-3008 is the most recent). The French brand will have electric versions of its entire range by 2025.
