Peugeot will rationalise its estate car (station wagon) range when it launches its new 308 cargo carrier.
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The outgoing 307 was sold as a standard estate car and the top-of-the-range SW with panoramic glass roof. Peugeot will call the new models SW as it does already with the 207 and 407.
Steve Lambert, head of product for Peugeot in the UK, said: “We will have four specification levels starting with the basic steel-roof model with 60-40 rear seat split which will be aimed at the business market place.
“It has huge interior volume which is big enough to compete with estates in the segment above.”
Top of the range will be the glass-roof version with independent, removable seats which can accommodate up to seven people. The tailgate will also have a steel and glass split to make loading easier.
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By GlobalDataUp to last year, Peugeot had sold almost 70,000 308 Estate and SW models since its launch in 2002 with 40,000 being the upmarket SW versions.
Lambert said the decision to ditch the estate name was led by dealers who said the different names sometimes led to confusion with customers in the showroom.
In the first full year, 2009, Peugeot expects to sell between 9,000 and 10,000 SWs, somewhat below the heyday of 16,000 models a year.
Lambert added: “The emergence of mini-MPV and crossover vehicles has had an effect and the overall estate market is down, but we feel the body style still works well for us.
“There are a lot of potential customers out there who are downsizing from larger estates. We will be looking at retail sales as well as good quality fleet sales – we will not be chasing volume for the sake of vanity. The 308 has started to take hold in the fleet market because of the quality of its fit and finish.”
The 308 SW range will go on sale in the UK from 12 June.
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