Pierre Louis told me that 2008 has been a very difficult year for most manufacturers including Peugeot. It started like any other but since June it has turned into an extremely difficult year for the industry as a whole. He said they, like others, have seen a shift from people buying larger cars into smaller lower Co2 models. Most are downsizing and they cannot supply their small cars such as 107 and 207 as quickly as they would like. They have reduced the amount of vehicles supplied into the rental market from 21,000 in 2007 to less than 14,000 this year and further reductions are to take place next year. This should help confidence and residual values. He sees the new car market in 2009 being under two million.
The exchange rate between the pound and Euro has seen the cost of imported cars increase by 17% but price increases from all manufacturers have been modest and far less than the fall in the value of the pound. This extra cost burden has been absorbed by the manufacturer and price increases across the industry in 2009 are inevitable unless the pound strengthens in value vs the Euro.
Phil Robson told me the fleet car market is down this year by 12% and Peugeot fleet car sales are down 15% as a result of the reduction in rental volumes in 07 vs 08. The light commercial vehicle market is down in the UK by 15% but Peugeot have bucked the trend by increasing sales by 4%. They have the youngest LCV line up in the industry with 5 new products launched since 2006.
Phil said that Peugeot are committed to reducing Co2 emissions and improving fuel consumption. In the short term and by the end of 2009, they will have a stop/start vehicle in full production. Within a couple of years they will have a Hybrid diesel called the HyMotion4 which will produce 160bhp from the diesel engine and a further 40bhp from the electric motor. It is expected this Hybrid will produce only 109g/km. By 2013 the company is striving to have all its cars below 120g/km. This year, one in six cars sold in Europe with Co2 figures below 120g/km is a Peugeot and he says that the fact that Peugeot offer so many ‘low Co2’ cars is still a secret to many buyers. This is something he is ensuring more people know about and he intends to also show the savings that businesses could make by moving to a low Co2 manufacturer such as Peugeot.
Blue Lion, which is Peugeots brand name for its cleanest cars, is becoming a better known name. Although it still has some way to go before it is a household name and people become more familiar with it. To be a Blue Lion vehicle it has to have a Co2 figure of under 130g/km, be 95% recyclable and produced in a certified ISO140001 factory. He says that quality has been a problem in the past, especially in the early 307 but this is improving dramatically with warranty claims down year on year for the last 2 years by 30% per year and we will see further quality improvements during 2009.
Parts supply, Phil told me, is the best in the industry with first pick parts in stock now standing at 98%. He said that a worry for the fleet industry is the new tax laws which are introduced next April that will see a change in write down allowances. This will become dependant on the vehicles Co2. For example a car with a Co2 at 160+, there will only be a 10% WDA. For those with a range of between 111g/km and 160g/km, the WDA will be 20% and for those below 111g/km the write down allowance becomes 100%. This he says will make substantial changes to car purchases but Peugeot will be in a strong position and be able to offer the right cars to fleets due to their low Co2 vehicles.
Peugeot have been weak in supplying information to the industry and its customers and partners. He has committed to changing this and improving the system for data supply in 2009. This is already being delivered as we saw the first unveiling of the stunning 308 CC 6 months before launch.
Finally, he told me about the ‘Prologue Concept’, a crossover SUV that will be based on the 308 and is likely to be the first Peugeot to offer the ground breaking HyMotion4 system.
