Your family owns a slice of a European car company that makes a couple of million cars a year. Your name is on the hubcaps, literally, so the way your family firm does business is as important as its success. What kind of person do you want to run it, to safeguard its future and to make it pre-eminent in an arena where distinctiveness matters?
These questions run through my mind as we walk through PSA’s glassy out-of-town Parisian HQ towards the corner office of 52-year-old Jean-Philippe Imparato, Peugeot’s CEO this past two and a half years. We’ve not met before but his reputation precedes him. Imparato is PSA chief Carlos Tavares’ (and the Peugeot family’s) choice to devise, orchestrate and extend the historic recovery of Peugeot’s carmaking business, a remarkable climb from near-bankruptcy in 2013 to record profits and sales in 2017-18. Everyone who knows him says Imparato is very different from your usual chief executive.
Five minutes in and it’s clear how right they are. Different is the least of it. Even ‘larger than life’ is a grievous understatement. Imparato is tall, imposing and instinctively friendly. He talks loudly, smiles quickly, waves his arms for emphasis in huge, uninhibited gestures and seems positively to enjoy answering questions without the warm-up others need. His feet rest naturally on the coffee table (because it’s comfortable) and he’s a jacket-off man. Start talking Peugeot business and he’s instantly brilliant.
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Thekrankis
I owned a few Pugs back in the day...
I gave up when they became flimsy, unreliable and most unforgivable of all: Frumpy.
If their is one brand I would love to do well again it is Peugeot.
artill
I too owned a good number of
I too owned a good number of peugeots in the day, probably near half of all the cars i have owned in fact. Yet the only one i still own is my 405 MI16. I keep looking at Peaugeots when i am looking for a car, but the current ones arent of any interest. Mr Imparato might think Peugeot are back, but from my point of view they have gone the wrong way. The 508 looked like a return to form, but turns out they are all auto (or low powered diesel). The MI16 was/is great. The 406 was wonderful with the 3.0 V6, the 406 Coupe was stunning. Its such a shame that a brand that made such great cars cant make anything appealing any more. I hope things change. i doubt they will
Spywholovedme
I know what are you speaking
I know what are you speaking about, but try 308 with light 1.2 puretech in front. New, light 208 1.2 should be good, hope stability system is permissive like in 308. Seems that handlingwise new 508 is not top of the class as 308 or 3008 are.
Thekrankis
Loved my mi16 405
EdBalls
Owned 8 pugs over the years
Chris C
Simples
Design vehicles that customers (not necessarily your employees) want and relentlessly pursue/eradicate quality issues. Straight to the point - I like this guy.
Not sure about saloons coming back though, at least in this market.
xxxx
Segments
"But it looks as if A- and B-segments will be pure battery. C and D will go plug-in.” I'll be surprized if it ends up that clear cut. Honda reckon their Urban will around £30k which looks crazy compared to a VW UP with it's cheap a chips ICE or a Suzuki mild-Hybrid.
Most successful EV's are currently anything with a Tesla badge on, LEAF, Zoe, Kona, i3, I-Pace. The Electric 500, e-UP, iOn, Gwizz have all failed to reach reasonable sale figures. Maybe when batteries are ALOT cheaper and ICE are all but banned but you can't make a finacial argument for cheap small EV's for several years to come.
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