Peugeot is not really doing very well, currently, with factories closing down and some models not selling as well as anticipated, but there may still be hope with their 2008 small SUV/crossover. Apparently, the model has proven popular for all sorts of buyers, and its reception has been a very positive one (see our test drive here).
In fact, demand seems to have caught PSA off-guard. Initially announcing that they would make 5,000 units per month, Autonews Europe says that the figure has now been doubled, with the addition of a second shift to the Mulhouse factory located in eastern France – it enters operational status in September, though.
Demand is high, and there are reportedly already 16,000 orders for the 2008. The analysts at IHS Automotive told the publication it will become the continent’s best-selling small crossover, in a market sector that is said to surpass the half-a-million mark by 2015, being populated by the likes of the Nissan Juke, Opel/Vauxhall Mokka and Renault’s Captur.
The latter is also expected to do very well, and the same analysts predict it to take the number two spot, just behind the 2008, beating the Nissan Juke.
So it seems that we need to start getting used to Peugeot’s front-wheel drive crossover, because with projected sales of 200,000 units world-wide by 2015, we’ll definitely be seeing a lot of them around, predominantly in Europe, South America and, of course, China.
By Andrei Nedelea
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