The points of convergence between the brands of the Stellantis galaxy and Chinese car manufacturers (here is a non-exhaustive list of existing or rumored partnerships) seem to be intensifying. At least at the time of the debut, in fact, the reimagined Peugeot 208 will mount an electric motor from Jing-Jin Electric Technologies.
THE CHINESE ELECTRIFY PEUGEOT
According to a scoop from the French newspaper Les Echoes (which has not yet been denied), the city car, of which only a prototype with probably too futuristic lines for commercialization has been shown so far, will rely on an EV powertrain coming from the East.
The choice is due to necessity: the powertrains that Stellantis will develop internally with the Japanese company Nidec, through the JV Emotors established in 2017 with PSA, will not be ready to accompany the new electric 208 at launch.
INTERNAL PRODUCTION STRUGGLES TO GET STARTED
As far as is known, plans foresee that Emotors will produce the rotor and stator of the electric motor for the new platform in Tremery, a plant in the Grand Est Region subject to an important makeover in 2019 aimed at producing about 900,000 electric powertrains from those lines, although the current electric car bubble casts doubt that it will initially operate at full capacity. Conversely, other parts will be supplied by a long-standing external partner such as Valeo. The entire assembly should instead be carried out at the Stellantis plant in Szentgotthard, Hungary.
MEANWHILE, THEY START WITH CHINESE MOTORS
All this will be set in motion later, starting from 2028. But the new French city car must instead debut in 2027. In the meantime, the new Peugeot 208s will initially be equipped with powertrains supplied by the Chinese group Jing-Jin Electric Technologies.
Although the name of the Chinese company is virtually unknown around here, it has already worked on important Stellantis projects, supplying, for example, the motors for the electric version of the Maserati Grecale Folgore, as recalled by the specialized magazine Car and Driver. It goes without saying that it is surprising that for the launch of the much-publicized STLA One platform (formerly STLA Small) the Italian-French Group has to rely again on the Chinese, having no “in-house” solutions ready.
