Peugeot premieres the new 408 in Beijing

The new Peugeot 408 has been unveiled today, by Jean-Marc Gales the Marque's Managing Director, as a world premier on the Chinese market, to around 300 Chinese journalists and more than 700 network representatives. This premier represents a step forward on the brand's ambition to increase its presence on the world's foremost automobile market.

Although it has only been present in the Chinese market for 5 years, Peugeot sold over 410 000 units in 2009, 44% more, comparing with the sales from 2008.

After the success in the M1 segment with the success of the 307 saloon and the 307 notch-back, with 3,522,800 produced worldwide, Peugeot seems ready to start a Chinese market offensive with its new 408 DF Peugeot.

With this new model, developed for the Chinese market, Dong Feng Peugeot will reinforce its offer on the M1 segment, which represents 45% of the total market.

The French make expects that the launch of the Peugeot DF 408 will enable a 30% increase in sales in 2010. This half-height architecture notch-back saloon has been designed and developed jointly by Peugeot's Styling teams in Europe and China and meets three objectives: embody the Marque's modernity, guarantee maximum safety and offer unrivalled interior space.

The new Peugeot DF 408 is being produced at the Wuhan plant in Hubei province in China and is the result the joint venture set up between PSA Peugeot Citroën and the Chinese group DFM.