Peugeot won’t copy Renault’s retro car revivals, new boss pledges
New Peugeot 208 will take inspiration from the 205 but not recreate it, new boss tells us
The Peugeot Polygon concept gives big clues to the next 208 and how its design heritage will shape future Peugeots, CEO Alain Favey has told Auto Express.
The new electric Peugeot 208, set for an unveil at the Paris motor show in October 2026, will carry forward the Polygon’s striking front and rear light bars. Its body surfacing, with clean lines that flow uninterrupted around the car and juxtapose with the flat rear, projects an intentionally different feel to the chiseled, retro-modernist design of Renault’s small electric equivalent, the R5.
The Renault is – of course – a reboot of a supermini originating in 1972; Peugeot will take a less overt approach to its Parisian rival.
“We’ve clearly always said we’re not into retro design: the objective is not to recreate the 205 of the past,” vows boss Favey. “Yes, we can reuse elements of the past as inspiration, and that’s what you see on Polygon.”
So while the oblong graphics on the rear pillar hark back to the 1.9 and GTi plaques on the original hot 205, the outline is also future-facing as it’s the shape of the hypersquare steering wheel.
“But I don’t think [Polygon] is a retro design: what we’ll do is create the Peugeots of the future,” he continues. “Others stand out in the way they recreate their past. We’re trying to stand out [for] innovation and the way we use this past to [give] inspiration to create the future.”
Peugeot and Renault doubling down on their past – by reintroducing entire cars or individual design details to trigger nostalgia among car fans – is a clear strategy to take on new Chinese brands, which don’t have any heritage to lean into. “Charismatic design”, says Favey, is a key weapon in Peugeot’s armoury to fend off the Chinese brands.
“Most important when you try to position the brand for the future is to give reasons to people to buy you instead of one of these new kids on the block,” he says.
Other key brand building blocks are motorsport and GTI models, high quality and new technology, such as the ‘hypersquare’ steer-by-wire system also on the Polygon concept.
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