New Peugeot 208 appears in first photos: retro motifs and steer-by-wire

Photos of the third-generation Peugeot 208 hatchback have surfaced online today, with its market launch expected in 2027. Meanwhile, the current Peugeot 208 will remain in production, with another major facelift still ahead of it.

The Peugeot 208 is one of the most popular passenger cars in Europe. The current second-generation Peugeot 208, built on the CMP (Common Modular Platform), has been in production since 2019, and underwent its first facelift in 2023. According to the British magazine Autocar, the current Peugeot 208 has another facelift in store, which will bring its design closer to that of the third-generation hatchback.

The third-generation Peugeot 208 is expected to hit the market in the second half of 2027, heralded by last year's Peugeot Polygon concept. In October this year, at the Paris Motor Show, as reported by our British colleagues, another concept with a design closer to the production third-generation Peugeot 208 will be unveiled. It is all the more surprising, then, that today the first 'official photos of the new Peugeot 208' have appeared online, courtesy of the Chinese magazine Autohome. These photos are not available on the French brand's media site.

In the age of artificial intelligence, any new model can be rendered, yet the new Peugeot 208 in the images presented here looks quite realistic — it may simply be a leak, which does happen from time to time. In the design of the lighting and side panels of the upcoming new model, it is easy to spot design elements from the Peugeot 205 — the predecessor of the Peugeot 208 from the 1980s. The roof of the new hatchback, it seems, incorporates a solar panel, allowing for a slight charge of the battery during daylight hours.

The new Peugeot 208 is based on the corporate STLA One modular platform, announced in May this year, which is primarily aimed at Europe and vehicles in the B, C, and D segments. The third-generation hatchback will be offered only as an electric vehicle and will accordingly be called the Peugeot e-208. Those who still require internal combustion engine versions will be able to buy the second-generation Peugeot 208 — it will continue to be produced even after 2030. The second facelift of the second-generation Peugeot 208 will likely take place after the premiere of the third-generation hatchback.

One of the features of the new Peugeot e-208 will be a steer-by-wire system: the driver will not need to turn the wheel through large angles, and the steering wheel itself will become an innovative control yoke, in the spirit of what we saw on the Peugeot Polygon concept. How consumers will receive it remains a big question.

We should add that, according to Stellantis's new development strategy, Peugeot is one of the corporation's four global brands, alongside Jeep, Ram, and Fiat. By 2030, Peugeot will launch seven new models on the market, including two mid-size passenger cars based on the Dongfeng platform.