New Peugeot E-408 to launch with 280 miles of range

Fresh details have emerged on Peugeot’s latest all-electric car, the E-408. Battery, range and performance figures have all been revealed ahead of the EV’s unveiling this week. 

The underpinnings of the Peugeot E-408 are shared with the E-308. The EMP2 platform accommodates a 54kWh battery in the E-308, but the longer body of the E-408 means Peugeot has managed to fit a larger 58kWh battery. That results in a slightly longer range of 280 miles compared with the E-308’s 267 miles. We’ll have to wait and see if Peugeot has improved on the E-308’s 100kW maximum charge rate, though.

What we do know is that Peugeot has fitted the E-408 with a more powerful electric motor than the 154bhp unit in the E-308. The new car’s motor develops 215bhp and 350Nm of torque, resulting in a 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds, compared with the E-308’s 9.8 seconds.

As a teaser image from Peugeot of the rear shows, we shouldn’t expect a drastic change from the 408’s design language. But in keeping with the 308 and E-308, the electric version of the 408 might gain a new grille, along with some new badging. 

The EV’s interior will look and feel very similar to the regular 408’s as well. We should see twin 10-inch displays, although the infotainment will be tweaked to show specific data readouts in line with the EV powertrain. 

The E-408 will go on sale before the end of the year. And while the petrol version of the 408 is a rival for the Cupra Formentor and Renault Arkana, the new E-408 will do battle with all-electric crossovers such as the Kia EV6 and Ford Mustang Mach-E. 

Given that the E-308 is priced from £38,550 – nearly £8k more than a pure-petrol 308 in the equivalent specification – while the starting price for a petrol 408 is currently £32,820, prices are likely to start from around £40,000. 

The arrival of the E-408 will mark a significant milestone for Peugeot, because it will mean that, once the 508 goes off sale later this year, every model in its line-up – including the firm’s range of vans – will be available with pure-electric power. The latest EVs to join the range were the E-3008 and E-5008, which Peugeot has confirmed will offer up to 435 and 415 miles of range respectively when the long-range versions arrive next year.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Eurig Druce, the newly appointed managing director of Peugeot UK, said this achievement sets the brand apart in the marketplace. 

He told us: “There are two things going on in the market right now; you have the normal competition between brands who are trying to win customers from each other, but there is also a subsurface economic war going on in the car industry between those who can and those who can’t.

“Those who can achieve the government legislation [the ZEV mandate] are in a stronger position, which means that you will succeed in the future market. And those who can’t have nothing other than to fight back and say how crazy the legislation is – you see it all over the place where people are denying it, and [are] becoming dinosaurs almost.

“So you have to choose what side of that market you want to be. Do you want to be an equivalent to a tobacco company that will be seen in 10, 15 years time as really not cool? Or are you a brand that can really succeed in this market? Peugeot is in that camp, since our whole range will be electric.”

Unlike some brands, Peugeot has not set a date for when it will stop selling petrol or diesel-powered cars in the UK. Druce explained: “At the end of the day, what we all have to do is follow the legislation on the one hand, and follow customer demand on the other. I can't give you a date in mind, and I wouldn't be so arrogant to say that ‘in 2027 I'm going to stop selling ICE cars’. Because if consumers are telling me in 60 per cent mix that they want electric vehicles, then that’s what we would have to do.

“We have to have that agility and response to where the customer is at. It’s not for me to dictate. I [will] try and push to be better in that electric market in the future, but I'm not an evangelist.”

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