PSA Group to expand petrol lineup in Europe, will invest in hybrid & electric powertrains

As part of the energy transition process and in line with the technological offensive spelled out in its Push to Pass strategic plan, the PSA Group is expanding its lineup with plug-in hybrid petrol engines and electric powertrains, which will be used in particular to equip e-CMP, its future electric platform developed in partnership with Dongfeng Motors.

At the same time, the Group, which includes Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands, plans to continue with internal combustion engines, both petrol and diesel.

For strategic reasons, PSA Group has decided to manufacture the main electric powertrain components in France, signalling its intent to develop high-tech operations in profitable niche markets. The electric powertrain will be produced at the Tremery/Metz centre of excellence, while the gear systems will be manufactured at the Valenciennes plant.

PSA Group has also decided to fit its plug-in hybrid petrol vehicles with engines produced at the Francaise de Mecanique facility in Douvrin, France. The Douvrin and Tremery plants will produce 350,000 additional turbo petrol engines in 2018, lifting potential output to 670,000 units. As a result of these investments, Tremery is set to become the Group's most diversified engine plant, capable of manufacturing petrol, diesel and electric powertrains.

To meet the growing demand for petrol engines, the Group plans to double its production in France by 2019, of its 3-cylinder EB Turbo PureTech petrol engine. Consequentially, to increase its capacity to produce 3-cylinder petrol engines and move production as close to consumers as possible, the Group will install an EB module at the Trnava, Slovakia plant in 2019. This will enable it to meet rising demand for petrol engines on entry-level vehicles. 

Gilles Le Borgne, executive vice-president, Research & Development said: “We will be launching an unprecedented technological offensive as part of the Push to Pass plan, to provide our customers with an attractive offering of sustainable mobility solutions and maintain our lead in terms of pollutant emissions reduction, with seven plug-in hybrids and four other new electric vehicles scheduled for launch by 2021, in addition to our flagship engine models.”

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