Peugeot is looking to recapture lost B-segment sales in the UK with its new 208 after admitting
its previous effort “didn’t meet expectations”.

The French brand told AM at the launch of its new supermini that the 207 had failed to meet
the carmaker’s expectations because it was “too big, didn’t appeal to women and it was priced too high”.

The 208 will be tasked with tempting women back to the brand and the pricing strategy
will aim to get families interested that want a smaller second car.

The B-segment is hotly contested in the UK and while Peugeot wants a market leader across Europe, knocking the Fiesta off the top spot here will be difficult.

The 208 will feature an extended model range, but Peugeot would not confirm when models like the 200bhp GTI, CC or SW will be added to the range.

Peugeot UK is expected to sell 22,000 208s this year, rising to 45,000 units in 2013.

Ford sold 96,112 Fiestas last year in comparison to Peugeot’s total UK registrations of 94,989 units across all its models.