Acquiring Opel/Vauxhall from GM haven’t changed PSA’s plans for continuing to offer a D-segment saloon, under the Peugeot brand.
Coming to challenge the likes of the new Opel Insignia, Ford Mondeo and even the newly-launched Volkswagen Arteon, with a more raked roofline, the next generation 508 (name unconfirmed) remains on track for a 2018 debut, AutoExpress reports.
Speaking with the British publication at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, Peugeot’s Product Director, Laurent Blanchet, confirmed the large family saloon and said that it will be positioned between the mainstream player and premium cars.
“The positioning of our brand is to be the best high-end mainstream. It means that we don’t want to be premium; there is another brand for that, which is DS. What we want is to be a very good generalist brand, and to be a very good generalist brand you have to be really present in the D-segment.“
The Peugeot 508’s successor will take styling cues from the recently presented Instinct Concept on the outside, while inside, it’s expected to feature an updated version of the i-Cockpit layout that can be seen in the new 3008 and 5008.
Under the skin, it will use PSA’s EMP2 platform, which also supports plug-in hybrid petrol tech and would allow the manufacturer to offer an electrified version of the car.
Despite Peugeot continuing to offer a D-segment vehicle, sister brand Citroen will abandon the segment completely, as they have no plans of launching an equivalent of the current C5. Instead, their focus is the development of the C5 Aircross crossover, which will launch later this year.
Note: Peugeot Instinct Concept pictured
PHOTO GALLERY
