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According to media reports, Dongfeng Peugeot will launch a new cross-border model, the Peugeot 408X, at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November, with an overall design similar to the Dongfeng Citroen Versailles C5X. It is understood that the new 408X of Dongfeng Peugeot is based on the Peugeot EMP2 platform and will be listed worldwide early next year and will be produced by a factory in Chengdu, China.

The Peugeot 408X is actually the overseas debut of the new Peugeot 408 (code name P54), positioning cross-border SUV, which is different from the Peugeot new 408 (positioning car) that went on sale in August. In terms of appearance, Peugeot 408X follows the Peugeot family's "Lion Soul Aesthetics" design, using the latest design language of the Peugeot family, the interior of the large-size forward air grille is embellished with dot matrix elements, and the new lion logo is placed in the center of the grill. there is a "408" logo above the hood. At the same time, the long and narrow headlight group is integrated with China net, and the tusk LED daytime driving lights extend to the lower air intake, with the lower three-stage lower surround design and black decoration filling to make the front face look more radical. The difference is that because of the positioning of the cross-border SUV, the chrome strip in the grille of the Peugeot 408X is vertical rather than the horizontal layout of the car, and the internal structure of the headlamp group is also different from that of the Peugeot new 408.

On the side of the body, the Peugeot 408X is designed in a cross-border style, with black anti-friction material around the body and wheel eyebrows, and the height is between the car and the SUV. In the rear part of the car, the huge slip-back tail and hatchback tail door look very smooth, and the taillight group is also different from the Peugeot new 408. The taillight is narrower and longer and has no bifurcations at the end, but the internal three diagonal structure is consistent with the 408. In terms of size, the length, width and height of the new car are 4687/1859/1478mm and the wheelbase is 2787mm.

In terms of interior decoration, there is also a big difference between Peugeot 408X and Peugeot New 408, but the overall design can still see the shadow of Peugeot New 408. Specifically, a large number of straight-line designs create a strong mecha style, with double-touch screen design of central control and full liquid crystal instruments, the sense of science and technology has been effectively enhanced. In addition, the traditional stopper is replaced by the latest electronic lever design, the transition between the central control screen and the lower table is natural, and the necessary physical keys are retained, thus allowing more storage space.

In terms of power, the new car will provide two 1.6T plug-in systems with different power overseas, and the maximum power of 1.6T engine is 180Ps and 225Ps, respectively. In addition, the new car also brings an entry-level version of the 1.2T three-cylinder engine model, with a maximum power 132Ps and a peak torque of 230Nm. All three models match an eight-speed automatic transmission. As for domestic models, the specific power equipment is still unknown, but it is expected to refer to the Citroen Versailles C5X. As a reference, the Dongfeng Citroen Versaillon C5X carries a 1.6T four-cylinder engine, maximum power 175Ps, peak torque 260N ·m, matched with an 8-speed manual self-integrated transmission.

In August 2022, Dongfeng Peugeot New 408 officially launched, the new car for appearance, interior, power upgrades, of which the biggest change is to cancel the old 1.2T three-cylinder engine, all equipped with 1.6T turbocharged engine, the price is 10.57-121700 yuan. In June 2022, the new Peugeot 408 was launched overseas, which is different from the new 408 listed by Dongfeng Peugeot. The overseas version of Peugeot 408 uses cross-border SUV sedan design, while Dongfeng Peugeot New 408 is still the standard hatchback. Generally speaking, the overall styling design of Dongfeng Peugeot new 408 refers to the overseas version of Peugeot 408, but the body structure and interior design are still different. Dongfeng Peugeot 408X, which will be released in November, is the master of the overseas version of Peugeot 408. To some extent, the emergence of Dongfeng Peugeot 408X will improve the product structure of Dongfeng Peugeot and provide consumers with more choice.

A few days ago, the discussion that Stellantis Group might cancel production in China sparked a heated discussion in the market. Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, said at the 2022 Paris Motor Show that Stellantis was considering adopting a "asset-light" model for brands such as Peugeot and Citroen in the Chinese market. Tang Weishi said: "if we advance the strategy we are adopting now, then we do not need to set up a factory in China." In an increasingly tense world, we don't need to create loopholes. We foresee the possibility of geopolitical tensions. Can we ensure the stability of the market? "

Many media interpretation of this, the so-called "light assets" is to give up domestic cars, only sell imported cars. Stellantis Group announced on its website that it will adopt a "light asset" approach to develop the Jeep brand in China and negotiate with GAC GROUP to terminate the local joint venture. After that, Stellantis Group will focus on distributing Jeep-branded imported cars in China. On the same day, GAC GROUP confirmed that he negotiated with Stellantis Group to terminate Guangzhou Auto Fick's termination of local production.

In this regard, "Automotive Industry concern" holds a different view, and does not think that Peugeot, Citroen brand or termination of local production. Unlike Guangzhou Auto Fick, Stellantis Group did not explicitly say "terminate the local joint venture" in its remarks against DPCA, indicating that Stellantis Group has not given up the domestic plans of Peugeot and Citroen brands, and certainly does not rule out the possibility of terminating domestic brands, because Tang Weishi also mentioned: "if we promote the strategy we are adopting now, then we do not need to set up a factory in China.

For the "light asset" operation, "Automotive Industry concern" believes that it is more likely to sell the factory. It is understood that 2014 is the peak of DPCA, with annual sales of more than 1 million vehicles. In order to meet the market demand, DPCA plans a number of factories, among which the fourth DPCA plant in Chengdu, Sichuan, started construction in October 2014 and went into production in September 2016. However, in the year when the Chengdu plant was put into production, DPCA's sales began to decline, resulting in a serious underutilization of capacity. Since 2019, DMC has successively sold one factory (with an annual production capacity of 300000 vehicles) and a second plant (with an annual capacity of 150000 vehicles), leaving only three factories (with an annual production capacity of 300000 vehicles) and four factories (with an annual capacity of 360000 vehicles). However, even based on the cumulative sales of 121696 vehicles in the first three quarters of 2022, the capacity utilization rate of DPCA is only 18%. Therefore, DPCA does not rule out the sale of the plant in order to reduce operating costs and improve capacity utilization.

Compared with the fourth factory, the sale of the third factory is more likely, but this is only speculation. It is understood that the current major sales models of Citroen are Peugeot 408, Peugeot 4008, Citroen C5 AIRCROSS and Citroen Versailles C5X. In addition to Peugeot 408 produced by Wuhan factory, the other three models are produced by Chengdu factory, while Peugeot 408X will soon be produced in Chengdu factory, and do not rule out moving the production line of Peugeot 408 to Chengdu factory.

In retrospect, Stellantis Group launched a lot of brands in China, including Opel, Peugeot, Citroen, Alfa Romeo, DS, Fiat, Jeep, but these brands are not going well in China. At present, Peugeot and Citroen, owned by DPCA, have carried the banner of French brands in the Chinese market. Although DPCA's market performance is not good, it is also slowly recovering the market. Also in this context, "Automotive Industry concern" believes that Peugeot, Citroen brand termination of domestic possibility is not great, once Peugeot, Citroen brand termination means that the previous efforts will fall short of success.

On Oct. 17, DPCA posted an article on its official account entitled "23 consecutive increases!" The cumulative annual sales of DPCA have exceeded that of last year. In the article, words such as "growth every month compared with the same period last year, dragon getting better every day", "development getting better and more motivated day by day" are full of affirmation of the current market and expectations for the future.

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