cover story ‹Gilles Le Borgne›: Over the last decade, the legislation on emissions became especially stricter for diesel engines. We have developed high performance exhaust after-treatment systems, drastically reducing pollutant emissions, especially particulates and NOx. In the future, the balance with standards of gasoline engines emissions will certainly be restored and the legislation will impact small cars more. The diesel engine is a major driver in tackling CO2 emissions without losing sight of other aims (quality, services, etc.). PSA Peugeot Citroën faces numerous significant challenges ahead to place it in a competitive position (product appearance and development know-how) and our R&D-teams are preparing the future generation of these engines. ‹F›: With the Peugeot 208 HYbrid- Air 2L PSA demonstrator car, which was presented at the Paris Motor Show, you’re presenting a very innovative 6 F O C U S hybrid-system using compressed air. Can you tell us more about the advantages of this system? ‹Gilles Le Borgne›: Hybrid Air is a world-first in revolutionary technology: Hybrid Air, a petrol and compressed air full-hybrid solution. This innovative technology comprises a new-generation, batteryfree full-hybrid powertrain, combining petrol and compressed air. It combines a petrol engine with a hydraulic pump, storing energy in the form of compressed air, and an automatic transmission. The engine autonomously switches between three driving modes: zero emission, petrol engine and mixed. Hybrid Air allows PSA Peugeot Citroën to position itself as world leader in this technology, with an affordable core range customer offering, lower consumption and ease of use. ‹F›: The Peugeot 208 HYbridAir 2L uses new lightweight technologies to reduce the weight of the car combining different materials in a new way. Can you explain how you achieved the 100 kg weight reduction in comparison to the 208 series car? ‹Gilles Le Borgne›: The 100kg is the difference between a 208, non-hybridized gasoline version of today, and the 2L prototype with his hybridized powertrain. If we don’t take into account the overweight of the hybrid powertrain, the weight reduction is 220 kg. For achieving such a result, we have extensively used the full range of lightweight materials: high performance steels, aluminum, composites (fiberglass and carbon). For example, we have used a low floor made of an affordable composite; we have also used carbon and polycarbonate for the rear panel. As you can see, it is necessary to have a tailored made approach; each part has to be considered for the choice of the materials, depending on technical requirements. The slogan is: “the right material at the right cost at the right place.” One of the biggest is to remain at the same level of cost as of today. > The Peugeot 308, which has been named “Car of the Year 2014”.
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