If you were at Frankfurt, you would have noticed the proliferation of hybrid and electric vehicles set to replace the conventional internal combustion engine. However these technologies are heavily reliant on government cooperation and legislation – two areas where Peugeot feel hurt by in the introduction of its hybrid air system.
Already tested in mules like the Peugeot 2008, 208 and Cactus Airflow 2L, the technology uses compressed air in partnership with a small internal combustion engine to propel the car with dramatic gains in efficiency. However the nascent technology needs support.
Peugeot CEO Maxime Picat said, “If tomorrow we spend hundreds of millions releasing [Hybrid Air] and the government decides that no, we are giving an incentive for plug-in hybrid and electric but not for your technology, then you are killing it. Governments are fixing very ambitious targets in terms of CO2 – good news for the planet. That is their role and I strongly support that,” he said. “Sometimes, too often in my personal opinion, they tell you what target to reach and what technology you have to push forward, which is nonsense.”
“There are so many examples in politics, in the UK, in France and in other countries where a politician has decided what is good and what is bad in automotive,” continued Picat. “But they are closing, in a way, the openness of the competition and the new technologies that a carmaker can bring to the market so today it is clearly too risky to launch Hybrid Air.”
