The next Peugeot 208 will be one of Stellantis’s most important cars to date when it is launched in 2026. It will mark the debut of a game-changing platform, will feature a radical tech-heavy interior with a square steering wheel and is set to be sold exclusively as an EV.
The new hatch will be the first model to use STLA Small, a platform destined to underpin Stellantis’s next era of compact cars and critical for Peugeot’s multi-brand parent to be competitive in Europe’s affordable car market.
The STLA Small platform will be used by all of the group’s models from the A- to the C-segment and replace the CMP/e-CMP architecture employed by today’s 208/e-208, 2008 and Vauxhall Corsa.
The 208 has been chosen to receive the platform first because it is one of the most crucial cars in the Stellantis stable, especially in its core market of Europe. In the first half of 2025, the 208 achieved 109,146 sales, a figure bettered only by its Renault Clio (122,489) and Dacia Sandero (128,842) rivals, according to data from Jato Dynamics.
While the new platform can accommodate hybrid and electric set-ups, it is understood that the third-generation 208 will be sold solely as an EV – a move that will be mirrored by the next Corsa, a 208 tech twin, which will drop ICE power, Vauxhall-Opel CEO Florian Huettl confirmed recently.
The current CMP-based combustion 208 is likely to stay in production alongside the new 208, given the unpredictability of the EV market. As a result, the new hatch is expected to continue using the e-208 badge as a distinguisher.
Speaking more broadly about Peugeot’s future powertrain approach, CEO Alain Favey said the brand is “committed to BEVs” but also “committed to a multi-energy offer”. He said: “Our strategy is to leave the choice to the customer which energy they want.”
Battery sizes for cars on the STLA Small will range from 37kWh to 82kWh. The new 208 is expected to use a pack at the larger end of that scale, given the Vauxhall Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo – a concept that previews the next Corsa – houses an 82kWh battery.
This would bring a marked increase in range for the 208. The biggest battery in the current car is 52kWh, which enables a range of 268 miles.
Details of potential power outputs have yet to be disclosed but, given the car’s positioning, motors with similar power to today’s 156bhp are likely. However, the platform can accommodate much more. For example, the Corsa GSE concept is fitted with two 395bhp motors, opening the door for another, more powerful GTi-badged model.
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It would be good to know whether the new bodyshell will be exclusively 5-door or if a 3-door option might be available with longer doors.
It'll be 5 only.