Peugeot, Citroën, DS to develop all-electric cars

The PSA Group has revealed that Peugeot, Citroën and DS are working in collaboration with Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng to develop a variety of all-electric cars that are aimed for production from 2019.

The two companies have been working together on a future platform for small EVs since 2015. All three PSA brands will use the platform, in addition to PSA’s partner in China, Dongfeng. The models will all be B- and C-segment offerings, so they will be similar in size to the Peugeot 208, Citroën C3 and DS 3 for the former, and 308, C4 and DS 4-sized for the latter.

PSA also revealed at last year’s Shanghai show that the platform will underpin all of its future B-segment vehicles, as well as larger cars, including the Citroen C4 Cactus.

DS’s place as technology leader in the PSA Group means it’s likely that the first all-electric car resulting from the PSA-Dongfeng deal will be DS-badged. Given the recent facelift of the DS 3 and DS’s interest in electric models like the E-Tense concept, it’s not unfair to surmise that the model could well be an electric version of the next DS 3, which is likely to be replaced around the same time as the electric models are introduced.

PSA remains tight-lipped on further details of the electric models, although the scale of the plans means it's not likely to be too long before we learn more about them. As the models fit into PSA's 'Push to Pass' plans, we're expecting more details quite soon.