Peugeot boss: “electric cars all look the same, I want us to be different”

“There are a lot of electric cars out there, and they all look the same. I want to differentiate Peugeot, and I think that’s when we’ve been at our strongest. 

So says Peugeot boss Linda Jackson, who tells TopGear.com that she's keen for the storied French carmaker not to fall into ‘uniformity’. “Whether you go back to the 205 GTI or you look at a new e-3008, they’re all very distinctive. We want to continue that. So we’re very strong on lighting signatures and how we bring a tech feel to our cars.”

Speaking of that fabled hot hatch - and with the reborn, electrified Renault 5 stealing this week's headlines - is Peugeot keen on reincarnating any of its heritage fleet?

“I’m not a fan of reviving retro models”, Jackson said.

Jackson spoke about how Peugeot’s core mantra of designing the exterior of a car before the interior has now been reversed. Moving forward, this means the onus will be on continuing to evolve the ‘i-cockpit’ layout ahead of the 2026 release of the Hypersquare - a radical new steering wheel that ditches a conventional setup in favour of digital electric controls and steer-by-wire technology.

“Putting a Hypersquare into a car is quite bold and audacious. I believe it’s our differentiator, and I prefer to take it in that direction as opposed to going back and saying, ‘Oh, how can I recreate the 205 GTi?’," she said.

"I’d rather take the spirit, and what makes that particular vehicle fun - and for Peugeot, that tends to be agility when driving. How do I bring that into the future? By introducing steer-by-wire.”

She's optimistic about the carmaker's fortunes. “I think it’s very rosy. We are of course already strong in the B segment, and we’re aiming for the same in the C segment with cars like the 3008.

“We want to reach the podium by 2025, and we’ve got a real opportunity here because we’re very strong in Europe and with electric vehicles. And no matter how many people don’t say it, the future, in Europe at least, is electric.”