Peugeot could launch competitor to the Tesla Model 3

According to the French portal Auto Moto, the car (presumably called the Peugeot e-508) will launch in 2028. Unlike the Inception design study (see image), the EV will not use the large Stellantis STLA Large platform, but rather the STLA Medium, which Peugeot already uses for its e-3008 and e-5008 SUV models.

Parent company Stellantis is determined to take on Tesla’s saloons thanks to the synergies of its numerous brands. With the discontinuation of the current 508, Peugeot would then close the chapter of a long series of saloons with combustion engines and focus on 100 per cent electrically powered saloons in the future.

While the future models of the Stellantis brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati want to compete against the Tesla Model S, Peugeot aims for a direct rivalry with the Model 3. The future electric car will rely on the STLA Medium platform, which enables a battery capacity of 87 to 104 kWh for a range of 400 to 700 kilometres, according to WLTP. The car will be an impressive 4.80 metres long. However, the STLA Medium is only designed for 400 volts, like the Tesla Model 3, and the Peugeot e-508 will not be able to match the charging times of 800-volt models already available today, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 6, even in 2028.

However, Peugeot’s electric saloon will also score points in terms of its design. The 2023 Inception study clearly referenced the faces of the saloons that shaped the brand’s history with the lion in the 70s and 80s. A new e-508 would thus follow the tradition of the 504 presented in 1968 and the lineage of the 505 from 1979.

Peugeot presented the study called Inception at CES in January 2023, providing a preview of the design language of its electric cars from 2025. Unlike the first electric Peugeots, these will be based on pure electric platforms without combustion technology. The designers want to utilise this freedom – and speak of the “beginning of a new era.”

The brand has big plans: “Our ambition is simple: to make Peugeot the leading electric brand in Europe by 2030. This objective and ambitious vision pave the way for a radical transformation for the brand,” said Linda Jackson, global CEO of Peugeot at CES last year. “It is embodied today by the Peugeot Inception Concept, which marks the beginning of a new era.”

auto-moto.com (in French)