Automotive: when brands revamp their ranges

In the automobile, there is a premium for dynamism.

Manufacturers know that a break or a soft patch in the product plan is tantamount to taking the risk of being relegated to the second division.

To avoid leaving the light, all the actors try to maintain a sustained rate of launches.

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This is how the market can give the impression of being drowned in a continuous stream of novelties.

This whirlwind seems all the more impressive as with the ecological transition, the period is marked by a juxtaposition of ranges, thermal and electrified.

100% electric

At the Paris show, the Stellantis group did not come empty-handed.

Peugeot offers its first walkabout to its 408, a new number which attempts the synthesis between the sedan and the SUV.

This raised model does not replace anything existing, fitting between the 508 and the 3008. From the EMP2 platform of the 308 extended by 110 mm to display a wheelbase of 2.79 m, and a length of 4, 69 m, the 408 will cause a sensation with its very curved roof, its wider tracks and its large 720 mm diameter wheels.

More versatile than a 508, this vehicle inherits most of the engines of the 308, including the two rechargeable hybrids of 180 and 225 hp and a 100% electric in 2024.

The Peugeot 408, between sedan and SUV, will be available in all-electric in 2024. Peugeot

Returning to the operating table to offer more elegant lines and a more refined interior, the DS3 took the opportunity to revamp its electric drive train.

The engine is increased to 115 kW (156 hp) and the battery to 54 kWh to claim a range of 402 km.

The system operates at 400 volts and now incorporates a heat pump to reduce recharge times and extend battery life.

Jeep chose Paris to take its first steps into electrics with the Avenger.

If a large part of the technology of the DS3 e-Tense will be found under its hood, this 4.08 m SUV will honor the all-terrain DNA of the American brand.

Read alsoIs the electric car really more ecological?

This model will be distinguished from its French cousins ​​by a four-wheel drive variant equipped with a small electric motor on the rear axle.

The Avenger is the first model of an electric offensive which will be enriched by four models by 2025. In 2030, Jeep announced that it would only market zero-emission models in Europe.

Although it has given up exhibiting in Paris, Citroën is taking advantage of the period to announce the marketing in France of the C4X, a trunk variant of its compact sedan.

Unsightly, this elongated 240 mm model is available in an electric version ë-C4 X. Its 100 kW motor is powered by a 50 kWh battery boasting a range of 360 km.

For its part, Mercedes announces a higher range, between 547 and 590 km thanks to a 90.6 kWh battery, for its EQE SUV.

But the price will reach the heights, above 80,000 €, for this electric vehicle a little shorter than the sedan from which it derives and marketed in 292 and 408 horsepower versions.

Citroën announces the next release in France of the C4X, a trunk variant of its compact sedan.

Citroen

Sportsmanship and ecology

At BMW, electromobility is also accelerating.

The German group has already more than doubled its sales of electric vehicles worldwide in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, to 128.196 units.

Next year, its electric portfolio will expand further with the launch of a BMW i5 and a Rolls-Royce Spectre.

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This turn does not prevent the Bavarian manufacturer from continuing to offer sports versions with thermal engines.

This is how next April, a new M2 will invest the landscape.

Starting from the last 2 Series coupé, the designers have sketched out a bodybuilder body marked by imposing and largely indented shields.

Coming from the M3/M4, the turbocharged 3-litre straight-six is ​​slightly deflated.

Thanks to a more contained weight, the 460 horsepower provide performance similar to the M4.

For its part, the Korean Hyundai aims to reconcile sportiness and ecology with the development of an electric range bearing the sports label N. An Ioniq 5 N will be launched next year.

In April 2023, a new M2 will complete the range of sports vehicles at BMW.

BMW