{"id":46088,"date":"2026-09-17T11:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T09:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/?p=46088"},"modified":"2026-09-17T11:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T09:09:58","slug":"peugeots-move-towards-100-per-cent-electric-when-citroen-paved-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/?p=46088","title":{"rendered":"Peugeot\u2019s move towards 100 per cent electric: when Citro\u00ebn paved the way"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Next year, Peugeot will be the first within the Stellantis Group to introduce the 100 per cent electric, \u2018by-wire\u2019 steering system in its new-generation 208 and the forthcoming 2008. This major technological advance, currently featured on certain models from brands in the upper and even premium segments (Lexus, Infiniti, Nissan, etc.), will significantly and positively transform the driving experience and enjoyment \u2013 an area close to the French brand\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 2022 Peugeot Inception concept car introduced the \u2018Hypersquare\u2019 concept, a \u2018steering wheel\u2019 in the form of a tablet that controls the steering without any mechanical link.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, within the former PSA Group, Peugeot\u2019s rival \u2013 and yet cousin \u2013 Citro\u00ebn had developed this concept before Peugeot did, notably in two of its concept cars, which we\u2019re looking at again today. Let\u2019s set the scene: in the early 2000s, the seeds of a revolution were being sown in the market \u2013 that of those rather odd SUVs, designed very often for urban use! Citro\u00ebn anticipated this massive surge in SUVs with a concept car, the C-Crosser shown below, unveiled in 2001. It featured an innovation that the future 208 would adopt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sandwiched between a small, avant-garde Osmose from 2000 and the sublime C-Airdream concept from 2002, the C-Crosser did not leave a lasting impression. Nevertheless, it remains the first futuristic SUV designed by the young team led by Jean-Pierre Plou\u00e9. Like certain other concept cars, it features highly futuristic technology, such as the ability to slide the driver\u2019s seat from left to right \u2013 or even with the driver in a central position \u2013 an architectural feature dear to Citro\u00ebn!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are no pedals in the Citro\u00ebn C-Crosser concept car: everything is controlled via the steering wheel, which can therefore move from the left to the right of the driver\u2019s seat!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The C-Crosser features electric control technology not only for the driver but also for managing the Hydractive hydraulic suspension. Inside, the driver has a \u2018joystick\u2019-style double-spoke steering wheel, which allows them to change gear at the touch of a button located at the top. By rotating the ends of these spokes, the driver can also control the vehicle\u2019s acceleration or braking. It is also worth noting that all four wheels are steerable, as shown below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018Drive-by-wire\u2019<\/em> technology was already in the spotlight at the time, but European standards had not yet approved it. Today, Europe has finally opened the door to this electric architecture, and a French car manufacturer has adopted it for some of its models towards the end of this decade. It is not Citro\u00ebn, but Peugeot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alexandre Malval, now Renault\u2019s head of design, played a major role in the design of Citro\u00ebn\u2019s C-Airdream concept car in 2002.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A year after the C-Crosser, the 2002 Citro\u00ebn C-Airdream concept pictured above really hammered home the point with this \u2018by-wire\u2019 architecture. It is indeed featured in this stunning coup\u00e9 designed by Alexandre Malval, now head of design at\u2026 Renault. At Peugeot, in 2002, the design team led by G\u00e9rard Welter produced the magnificent RC Pique and RC Carreau concepts, a sort of modern-day Alpine berlinette. At the time, Peugeot had no hesitation in fitting one of them (the red RC Carreau) with a turbodiesel engine. Those were different times\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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C-Airdream marks the start of an extraordinary chapter in a long series of concept cars that would in turn inspire production models (in this case, the C4 coup\u00e9) and fuel an ever-growing sense of fantasy. This 2002 concept heralded the brand\u2019s new design language. Inside, the designers worked closely with their engineering colleagues to equip the cabin with the latest \u2018by-wire<\/em>\u2019 driving technologies, fitting the steering wheel with electric controls that manage both braking and steering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The steering wheel pictured above also offers a glimpse of the fixed-hub design that was to be fitted to the C4, C5 and C4 Picasso, before the group abandoned it when it became necessary to standardise \u2018modules\u2019 across both the Citro\u00ebn and Peugeot brands. Can we therefore imagine that this sharing of the \u2018by-wire<\/em>\u2019 steering module might also be continued between Peugeot and Citro\u00ebn? No, it is unlikely that we will see this architecture on future Citro\u00ebn models, even though the manufacturer had mastered the technology nearly a quarter of a century ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The steering wheel of the Citro\u00ebn C-Crosser concept is even more futuristic than the Hypersquare\u2019s, as it incorporates the accelerator and brake controls. Too futuristic!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since then, in 2012, Peugeot has developed its i-Cockpit, which has continued to evolve. With the Hypersquare concept, it will soon become a module that goes far beyond simply adopting an electric architecture: a rectangular steering wheel, a modified platform around the windscreen, more space for the cockpit, a new driving experience, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Peugeot Polygon concept car showcases the manufacturer\u2019s future i-Cockpit architecture: the rectangular steering wheel will not be the only change, as the entire dashboard will be redesigned to integrate it more effectively.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this respect, the French brand is more innovative than, say, a Lexus RZ, which incorporates this architecture without altering the layout of its dashboard, which remains conventional\u2026 One of the main reasons for this lack of standardisation with Citro\u00ebn stems from a difference in platform in this segment. Citro\u00ebn\u2019s platform (known as \u2018Smart\u2019) cannot accommodate this steering module without requiring very costly modifications. And for a brand (Citro\u00ebn) that aims to be accessible to all, the cost of production is far more important than the media hype surrounding a driving revolution\u2026 Citro\u00ebn will therefore do without this innovation. For now, at least?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design sketches of the Hypersquare steering wheel from the early stages of the Peugeot Inception concept car.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Next year, Peugeot will be the first within the Stellantis Group to introduce the 100 per cent electric, \u2018by-wire\u2019 steering system in its new-generation 208 and the forthcoming 2008. This major technological advance, currently featured on certain models from brands in the upper and even premium segments (Lexus, Infiniti, Nissan, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46088"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46088"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46129,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46088\/revisions\/46129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lignesauto.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}