Peugeot naming system locked on 8

PEUGEOT has revamped its 83-year-old model-naming system by ditching its policy of numbering each generation.

Instead, the numerical system that started with the Peugeot 201 in 1929, and is now in its eighth generation, will be locked at ‘8’ for all models in future – unless they are what the French company calls “conquest models”, which for unexplained reasons will finish with a ‘1’.

This means models such as the 208 and 308 will retain that name in perpetuity, through generation change, and never graduate to 209 and 309.

As before, the first digit of the model number is said to represent the size or class of the vehicle, Peugeot said in a statement last night.

In almost the same breath, the company then named the first of its new “conquest models” the 301 (below), even though it is a 208-based sedan.

Conquest models appear to be defined as vehicles for emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America.

“The final digit is a response to new challenges, new ambitions,” said Peugeot in a media release.



“The wider coverage of the markets at international level calls for the launch of conquest models in the large volume segments at the heart of the market.

“These models take their place in the Peugeot range and will bear new names: numbers with a final digit ‘1’.

“Designed specifically to fulfill new customer expectations, these conquest models – affordable and offering status – will supplement the range of models with a final digit ‘8’.”

The middle zero is said to “identify Peugeot”, and will be retained.

As well, crossover vehicles that have been identified with a ‘00’ in the middle since 2005, will retain that system, but like the sedans and hatches will conclude with an ‘8’.

Specialty body types, such as cabriolets and wagons, appear likely to retain the CC or SW tag attached to their model nameplates.

Peugeot’s numerical numbering system is one of the oldest consistent model naming regimes, but started out in 1929 simply as the code for Peugeot’s 201st project.

Along with BMW’s numerical naming system, its simplicity and global recognition was admired and envied by other car-makers.

Now both of these manufacturers have stepped away from the purist approach.