The Peugeot 208 will undergo a mid-cycle update in 2023. A facelift that will allow this generation, the second, to face the rest of the commercial life that lies ahead. Stellantis has decided that, in an important market, the new Peugeot 208 uses FIAT engines.
Peugeot’s popular B-segment utility will soon undergo a major facelift. The Peugeot 208 will undergo a mid-cycle update that will allow this generation, the second, to be able to face the rest of the commercial life that lies ahead. A set-up that will bring with it novelties in terms of design, technological equipment and at a mechanical level.
Peugeot has put in place all the machinery to materialize this important project in a short space of time. And it will not only be focused taking into account the model that we enjoy in Europe. Stellantis, automobile group to which it belongs Peugeot also wants to improve the performance of the 208 far from the borders of the Old Continent. The spotlight is on Brazil.
The differences between the European and American Peugeot 208
The Peugeot 208 marketed in American lands is manufactured in a Stellantis facility located in Argentina. A priori, it looks like a carbon copy of the model that we can find in European dealers. However, under the hood there are big differences.
In Argentina, Brazil and other American markets, the 208 is available with a veteran 1.6-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder gasoline engine that develops just under 120 hp. In Brazil, this engine has the relevant adaptation to run on ethanol (E100).
On the other hand, and no less important, is the fact of the 100% electric variant. The Peugeot e-208 is only available in Europe. At the time, the possibility of marketing the e-208 in the American continent was analyzed. However, the low market share held by electric cars in this part of the world quickly ruled out this option.
The new Peugeot 208 will use FIAT engines in America
The information to which a Brazilian specialized media has had access shows that, in the face of the “facelift” that is already on the horizon, there will be important changes in the mechanical section of the 208 sold in MERCOSUR. And it is that, the facelift of the Peugeot model will coincide with the arrival of a new range of FIAT engines. More modern, efficient and reliable mechanics. It is because of that Stellantis has decided that the new Peugeot 208 uses FIAT engines.
FIAT is one of the flagship brands of Stellantis in South America. FIAT models enjoy great popularity. For this reason, it should not surprise us that, within the synergies that are being produced between the firms that make up said automobile conglomerate, we find that Peugeot turns to FIAT engines to boost 208 sales in a market as competitive as the Brazilian one.
But, What FIAT engines will the new 208 use? We must take the FIAT Argo as a reference. A best-selling utility vehicle that monthly struggles to lead registrations in Brazil. The 1.0-litre Firefly three-cylinder engine that develops up to 75 CV using ethanol is one of the main candidates to join the 208 range. It is also worth mentioning the long-awaited 1.3 Firefly engine that exceeds 100 hp and can be associated with a CVT-type automatic gearbox. And finally, we have a turbocharged version of the 1.0 Firefly engine that reaches 130 CV respectively.
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Sales of the Peugeot 208 in Brazil
The arrival of these new engines does not mean that the 208 will give up the current 1.6 four-cylinder engine. It is not ruled out that this veteran mechanic coexists with FIAT engines for a certain period of time.
In the convulsive year 2021 marked by the stock crisis in dealerships due to the global shortage of microchips, the Peugeot 208 was the 29th best-selling car in Brazil with 16,342 units. A result that contrasts with the second place achieved by the FIAT Argo and its 84,644 registrations.
Source: secret cars