Later this year Peugeot will enter the all-electric hot hatch segment with the new E-208 GTi. However, the French brand is already looking to build on its first new GTi model since the 308 GTi went off sale back in 2021. Speaking to Auto Express, Alain Favey, CEO of Peugeot, spoke about the excitement generated by Peugeot’s revival of the GTi brand since the E-208 GTi was shown off at Le Mans almost 12 months ago. “We keep looking at solutions to bring the GTi badge anywhere it can suit and definitely it would be suitable in a car like the 308, for example,” said Favey. While there has been a mildly warm, plug-in hybrid GSE variant of the Peugeot 308’s sister car from Vauxhall, the Astra, there hasn’t been a GTi version of the 308 or even an iteration of the now-defunct ‘Peugeot Sport Engineered’ label on the car. “We haven’t managed to find the right solution in terms of powertrain, technology and the set-up that would make the car really be a true GTi. If I put a GTi badge on it, I want it to be true to what people would expect - which is the top of sporty driving at a price that would still make the car affordable and not limited to a handful,” said Favey. Peugeot is still working out if there’s enough interest to justify the investment needed for another electric hot hatch. “To bring the GTi badge you need top technology, and to justify the investment you need the right balance of volume. We have not cracked it, but we keep working on it”, said Favey, who added, “we’d love to have a range of GTis, but we’ll start with the 208 - and I’m sure we will thrill everybody with this car and convince the last of the petrolheads that driving an electric GTi makes sense.” Although Peugeot seems to have a ready-made way to create a future E-308 GTi by taking the E-208 GTi’s front-mounted 276bhp electric motor, the 208 and 308 sit on different platforms and use different batteries. If the E-308 could use the E-208’s electric motor, it would still have 9bhp more than the old 308 GTi - which you can find used examples of on the Auto Express Buy A Car service for under £14,000. Favey took the role of Peugeot boss in February last year, and he says Stellantis has been very supportive of Peugeot’s targets. “Since February 2025,” he said, “we’ve asked for billions of things - GTi, PHEV technology on 408, and of course many more new models we’re going to bring until 2030. There is not one of the things I’ve been wishing for Peugeot that I didn't get.” Whether or not those wishes extend to building a GTi family for Peugeot beyond the upcoming E-208 GTi will become clear in the coming years.
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