PSA Peugeot Citroen team up more deeply with Dongfeng motors this time with an agreement signed to work together to realise an advanced EV platform in production by 2019.
Comprising of the PSA Group’s list of usual suspects Peugeot, Citroen, and their premium offshoot DS, an ambitious partnership with their Chinese collaborator Dongfeng Motors was announced that would see the development of future EV platforms to benefit both companies.
The joint-development effort had actually been ongoing since 2015 despite there being no official indication. With this announcement, it was revealed that their plans for production have been narrowed down to 2019 and that a Human Resources framework agreement had been devised to streamline a more symbiotic exchange of expertise.
This future electric vehicle platform, called e-CMP, will be the springboard unto which PSA plans to roll out EVs globally under the Peugeot, Citroen, and DS brands. At least initially, the platform is meant for B and C segment vehicle sizes such as the current crop of Peugeot 208 and 308 as well as the Citroen DS 3 and C4.
During the announcement ceremony, PSA Group’s Managing Board chairman Carlos Tavares, said: "The future e-CMP platform is a key milestone in our partnership with Dongfeng. It will speed up the worldwide development of both of our groups, while helping us to reach the strict carbon objective set for 2020”.
Recently, Citroen (under the DS brand) did unveil their E-Tense at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, an all-electric wedge shaped two-door sports car. And while it is quite unlikely that that French manufacturer or the equally French Peugeot will head in the direction of a sports car for PSA’s new platform debut, it does bode well that there are more exciting plans in store for their electrified future.
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