Peugeot defends premium pricing model as plug-in hybrids and electric cars bring new buyers to the brand

You wouldn’t know it here in Australia, but over in Europe, Peugeot is actually a very mainstream brand, the 208 hatch even being the continent’s best-selling car at one point.

Here in Australia, the French automaker’s positioning is very different. The local distributor only brings in high-end examples of the range, with correspondingly higher prices.

As a result, the brand exists in a semi-premium niche in Australia, selling comparatively low volumes of highly-specified combustion, hybrid and now electric cars. Even choosing to go plug-in hybrid-only with the 508 sedan and wagon (from a tall $81,610 before on-roads).

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Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of its first electric passenger vehicle, the e-2008, Peugeot Australia boss Kate Gillis explained how the brand’s more upmarket strategy worked for it, and how its electrified range was actually expanding its customer base instead of pushing buyers out with even higher pricing.

“There’s an element of taking the complexity out for the customer. That’s why GT and GT-Line is a sweet spot. Lower specs simply aren’t as popular as those higher grades,” she said.

For the new electric SUV, which only arrives in a globally top-spec GT grade priced at $59,990 before on-roads and state-based EV discounts, Peugeot’s communications manager Chloe Fraser explained that it had to be a top-spec car, according to the brand’s research.

“It’s how we’ve elevated the brand,” she said. “We were looking at the type of customer who would purchase an e specifically - for them it would need to be that higher model. We’ve also secured the highest level of safety and technology available globally.”

For plug-in hybrids specifically, Gillis also said Peugeot was finding a niche of customers who understand the tech - something which other brands have found a challenge.

“We find we’ve got these early adopters who understand it as the best of both worlds, and there’s a level of comfort [with plug-in hybrids] from those customers,” she said.

The 508 plug-in hybrid-only is priced from ,610 before on-roads.

“We’re in such a discovery phase for electrification, and PHEV fills a role in taking the risk out of those areas [range and charging].

“As our flagship, we have a determined electrification story - taking the 508 PHEV only felt like the right thing to do. The dual powertrain, electric plus combustion, we’re finding that’s the right mix.”

Gillis was also confident that the PHEV versions of the 508 and 3008, and now the electric e-2008 were “definitely” bringing new customers to the brand.

“It’s always an aspiration to bring more people to the brand. We have a degree of conquest with these models, people coming to the brand for the first time,” she said.

“Obviously, we have the appeal of being a European brand with that tech and electrification focus, and we can see our brand awareness growing in that space.”

When describing the Peugeot demographic, Gillis said they were “usually 40-plus, could be a small family or a couple - someone who is looking for an efficient practical vehicle with some innovation”.

Peugeot exists in a semi-premium niche in Australia.

“It spans a few demographics, but we find it’s someone who is looking for something fresh and new.”

As the brand pushes ever upmarket though, is there a risk of confirmation bias slipping in as the lower-end variants aren’t even considered? When asked Gillis said: “We had 2008 Allure, so we did have the ability to test that theory - in fairness what we found is that people come in at the price point of Allure and end up working their way up to GT anyway.”

The brand has also toyed with lower-grade versions of the 308 in the past, a move which did not significantly alter the hatchback’s fortunes in the Australian market.

It seems likely that the incoming fully electric e-208 hatch will follow the same strategy, although Gillis would not confirm the spec in which it would arrive yet.

“You have to look at the market and Peugeot’s role in that space,” Gillis explained. “Where will it appeal to our consumers? That’s a premium offering and premium specification.”