As a big fan of Peugeots – I’ve owned two Pugs and drove a 405 with all the whistles and bells into the ground – I’m looking forward to trying out the new 301.
The New Peugeot 301
Or I was until I realised that this 301 isn’t coming to the UK.
I’m also not a fan of Peugot’s hyperbole when it comes to a car it says ‘incorporates the latest stylistic codes of the Marque offering a modern design and character which inspires emotion and gives an impression of strength’. It’s a car!
The French firm says the 301 is a ‘clear illustration of the Marque’s internationalisation and demonstrates its desire to conquer new markets’ which ‘in keeping with Peugeot’s desire to introduce cars for specific markets, the 301 is not intended for the UK market.’
So there you have it. Peugeot is expecting the car to become one of the world’s biggest sellers so though you may see it frequently on your travels, you won’t be admiring it on British roads.
Made in Spain, the car will be launched at the Paris Motor Show in September. It will then go on sale from 1st November 2012 in Turkey then into Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, The Middle East, Gulf and African States, as well as in some Latin American markets.
The one thing to take note of here is that Peugeot is introducing a new naming policy for its vehicles.
In future, Peugeot will choose to use the end digit ‘1’ for all its new ‘conquest’ models and permanently fix the identity of all models with an end digit ‘8’ for future products.
It was in 1929 with the 201 that Peugeot began its characteristic three-digit numbering system based around the central ‘zero’.
The naming system used by Peugeot, going back through history, was structured so that: the central zero corresponded to the identity of the Peugeot marque; the first digit represented the segment size of the vehicle and the end digit indicated the generation of the vehicle.
From now on, Peugeot models will no longer change their number when they are renewed. Permanently fixing the numbers will simplify the understanding of the range and assist in establishing it further.
The ‘0’ indicates the genetic code; the first digit is the symbol of the segment and the ‘end digit is a response to new challenges and new ambitions’.
It’s a car!