TECH INSIDER | PEUGEOT E208
1. The Common Module
Platform can accommodate
combustion engine or
electrifi ed powertrains
2. Sylvain Chereau, the
e-208 drivetrain engineer
3. 18 battery modules are
squeezed into the platform
4. The drivetrain is being
manufactured at PSA’s
Trémery plant
E-208
Despite the joint venture
with Dongfeng, the e-208
was developed entirely in
Europe, as there are no plans
to sell it in China. On-road testing
began five years ago, with early
prototypes based on last-generation
models, and deciding to offer electrification
early on allowed for space-efficient packaging
of the battery pack under the body.
Shaped like two stacked Ts, the battery
comprises 18 separate modules and fills
the transmission tunnel, compartments
beneath both rows of seats and part of the
space beneath the trunk floor. It’s physically
the largest pack that would fit without
compromising passenger or luggage space
– another priority for the project. Bespoke
suspension tuning was required to mask the
683Ib (310kg) weight penalty compared to
a petrol or diesel version. “When you drive
the vehicle, you don’t notice the weight,”
Chereau says.
The battery pack is sourced externally.
Chereau declined to name the supplier, but said
it was new to PSA Group – it’s likely to be the
result of a strategic partnership with Chinese
battery manufacturer CATL. The pack has
an energy capacity of 50kWh and is watercooled
using the same circuit as the passenger
compartment, extending the
range and durability but also
enabling charging at up to
100kW. This restores 80% of
its 340km WLTP range in around
half an hour.
Peugeot has previously used the
CHAdeMO plug for its electric cars and vans,
but the 208 is using the Combined Charging
Standard (CCS) connector, located under the
fuel filler flap. This offers 7.4kW and, unusually,
11kW AC charging for quick top-ups, without
the need for a more expensive DC charger. The
cabin is warmed using a 5kW heater element,
supplied by the high-voltage battery, and
an energy-efficient heat pump to reduce the
impact of cold weather on the electric range.
Production drive
From launch the e-208 will be the most powerful
model in the 208 line-up. Its electric motor
produces 100kW peak power at 12,000rpm, and
260Nm from 0-3,300rpm, and is paired with
a PSA’s own space-effi cient single-speed
transmission. This enables the car to reach
50km/h in 2.8 seconds, 100km/h in 8.1 seconds
and offers a maximum speed of 150km/h.
Drivers will be able to prioritize range,
acceleration or comfort via selectable modes,
but Chereau says this won’t be positioned as
a warm hatch: “It is easy with an electric vehicle
to achieve this performance, but we don’t want
to position the e-208 as a sporty version. It is
not the USP of the vehicle.”
Production of the drivetrain also takes
place in-house; the transmission is built in
Valenciennes while the motor is manufactured
alongside PSA’s petrol and diesel engines at the
Trémery plant, though it features components
supplied by Continental. PSA’s €220m
(US$247m) joint venture with Japanese motor
manufacturer Nidec, signed last year, came too
late in the project to be incorporated in launch
versions, but Chereau says this is set to change.
In the near future we will have a totally
in-house electric motor, using Nidec PSA
joint venture IP,” he says. “So we will start
with Continental components, assembled at
Trémery, and in the near future we will switch
to Nidec.”
It’s a sign of growing momentum. The e-208
arrives alongside plug-in hybrid versions of the
508 and 3008, and Chereau hinted that the CMP
platform would be shared with other Peugeot
EVs. But, he says, the e-208 will remain a single
drivetrain variant, alongside petrol and diesel
models: “We think this proposition of range is
mainstream and will answer for a lot of people,
so we don’t see a need to offer a higher or lower
range version.”
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18 // July 2019 // www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com
/www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com