Peugeot 308 will get full-electric version

PARIS -- Peugeot said it will offer a full-electric version of the 308 compact hatchback by 2023, a previously unannounced powertrain configuration that could compete with the Volkswagen ID3.

The new-generation Astra from sister brand Opel/Vauxhall will also have a full-electric version, according to news reports. 

The new 308 was introduced earlier this month, with sales set to start in the second half, but only with internal combustion and plug-in hybrid options.

A Peugeot spokesman confirmed Wednesday that a full-electric version has been approved for production in 2023, but said it was "too early" to offer any more details, including what platform it would be built on.

The technical details of a full-electric 308 are not yet clear, although there are two options within parent company Stellantis. The group's newest compact EV, the Citroen C4, is built on the CMP architecture for small and compact cars, which can accommodate gasoline, diesel or full-electric drivetrains. But the 308 is built on the EMP2 platform, which is for compact and midsize models and is designed for plug-in hybrid electrification, not full electric.

A more likely choice is the coming e-VMP architecture, a battery-electric adaptation of EMP2 that will first appear on the next generation of Peugeot 3008 compact SUVs, slated for launch by 2023.

Stellantis is in the process of vertically integrating its electrified drivetrains, with a collaboration with Nidec on electric motors, with Punch Powertrain on transmissions and with Total/Saft on battery cell factories.

The 3008 is scheduled to be built at Stellantis' factory in Sochaux, eastern France. The 308 will be built at the group's nearby Mulhouse factory.

The new Astra is scheduled to be launched later this year, with production set for Opel's home factory in Ruesselsheim, Germany, where it will be built alongside the DS 4 compact car also based on PSA's EMP2 platform.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that a full-electric Astra would appear this year, without providing any more details.

The Astra will have a plug-in hybrid variant, Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller told German motoring magazine auto-motor-sport in an interview.

An Opel spokesman told Automotive News Europe that while the new Astra will have a hybrid option, a full-electric option would not be offered this year. The spokesman said Opel would not comment further on future product plans for competitive reasons.

Vauxhall-branded Astras have been built in Ellesmere Port, England, but Brexit has left the factory's future role in doubt. Opel said in 2019 that the next Astra would be built in two European factories. The company has not yet disclosed the Astra's second production location in addition to Ruesselsheim.

The news about the full-electric 308 was first reported in French news media. In a video segment recorded by the enthusiast magazine Auto-Moto and broadcast last week, Agnes Tesson-Faget, the product executive for the new 308, said a full-electric 308 was in the works.

Another French media outlet, L'Argus, said Monday that Peugeot brand CEO Linda Jackson had confirmed in an interview that an electric 308 was coming in 2023. 

The compact segment, the third-largest in Europe in 2020, is starting to see more full-electric options. The Nissan Leaf had long been the only EV available, but the ID3, launched last autumn, has recorded 6,858 sales through February, according to data from JATO Dynamics, about one-third of the segment-leading VW Golf. Nissan has sold 3,514 Leafs through February.

In addition to the full-electric Citroen C4, the Renault Megane-e is slated to appear in 2022, and the Cupra Born, a higher-performance version of the ID3 from the Seat performance subbrand on the same VW Group MEB platform, will go into production toward the end of this year.

Potential, although unannounced, vehicles could include a Skoda version of the ID3 and a Ford vehicle on Volkswagen's MEB platform under a technology sharing agreement.