The Hybrid Air technology Peugeot and Citroen have been teasing at auto shows lately sounds great, but parent PSA needs to team up with another carmaker to make it a production reality.
In an interview with Autocar magazine, a PSA exec said the system – shown in the Peugeot 208 HYbrid Air and Citroen C4 Cactus Airflow concepts at the Paris Motor Show this year – needs to find its way into about 500,000 cars per year to be economically viable for the company. Considering the combined outputs of Peugeot and Citroen is in the neighborhood of 3 million units per year, that’s a healthy chunk of cars that need this fairly revolutionary system.
The Hybrid Air technology uses a compressed air tank to store energy during braking that can then be used to aid acceleration and minimize lost energy. PSA has previewed it with its existing cars and gas engines, but Hybrid Air reportedly requires hydraulic pumps, gas tanks and a new gearbox.
PSA is searching for new powertrain partners, though, so Hybrid Air might appeal to some companies who aren’t as invested in hybrid technology yet as a way to meet new fuel economy standards. Just a thought, but Mazda’s SkyActiv technologies with Hybrid Air could make for some entertaining and fuel efficient small cars that could possibly end up in the U.S. one day.
Anyone up for a little automotive matchmaking?
By Zac Estrada