BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën Form Joint Venture to Produce Hybrid Components

Already partners in developing 4-cylinder petrol engines, BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën have decided to set up 50-50 equity joint venture named the BMW Peugeot Citroën Electrification, which will primarily focus on developing hybrid components. Sharing the cost of research and development as well as production and component purchasing, the two companies expect to achieve significant economies of scale.
The hybrid components in question include battery packs, E-machines, generators, power electronics and chargers, alongside the necessary software to operate them that will also be jointly developed. The new technologies will be used by the two automakers for their upcoming electric vehicles and could be sold to other companies as well.
The joint venture is expected to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2011 and it’s estimated that the first series production hybrid components will arrive in 2014.
“This cooperative venture will enable us to achieve significant economies of scale in the field of electrification. It also represents an important step on the road to sustainable mobility”, said Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.
“With this joint venture, we are sure to develop and expand our expertise and to build a European leader in the field of automotive hybrid innovation”, noted Philippe Varin, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën.
By Csaba Daradics



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Euro NCAP's Best and Worst Performers of 2010

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), which is similar to the American IIHS testing regimen, has released a list with the safest car in each vehicle category and the two worst performers overall of 2010. The cars that attained the coveted five star rating and achieved the highest overall score in their respective segment are:
------ Executive category: BMW 5 Series
------ Small Family category: Alfa Romeo Giulietta
------ Supermini category: Honda CR-Z
------ Small off-road 4×4 category: Kia Sportage
------ Small MPV category: Toyota Verso
On the other side of the fence are two models that achieved the poorest results of 2010. These are the Citroen Nemo with three stars and China's Landwind CV9 that received only two stars.
The European body noted that the cars in the top list "accomplished a high combined score based on the scores in each of the individual four areas of Euro NCAP’s assessment, while notably exceeding the thresholds for a 5 star overall rating". Along with the five top achievers, Euro NCAP said that the Suzuki Swift, Kia Venga, BMW X1, VW Sharan/Seat Alhambra, Citroen C4 all exceeded the 80% mark in overall score putting them on the runner-up list for the safest cars of 2010.
Commenting on the results, Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General said: “Every year, car manufacturers constantly work to innovate and make their cars better and safer for the driver, whatever the size of the vehicle. The presence in these categories of high performing 5 star cars demonstrates car manufacturers’ commitment to safety for all sizes of vehicles.”
In early 2009, Euro NCAP implemented tougher crash testing procedures that make it more difficult for vehicles to receive a five-star rating. Last year, the European body crash tested a total of twenty-nine vehicles from numerous categories, of which 65 per cent reached the five star rating, compared to 90% in 2009.



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The new Citroen DS3 Racing

Check out the new sporty hatch from Citroen - the DS3 Racing. Based on the DS3 DSport, the car is powered by a BMW-PSA



204bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine, front wheel drive with a six-speed manual box. The car goes from 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds and has a top speed of 146mph.

Apparently there are only 200 cars available for consumers in the UK. The car costs £23,100 which makes it more costlier than a MINI Cooper JCW.





The car is available in two colour schemes: one with Obsidian black body with sport orange roof an one polar white body and carbon grey roof.Source URL: https://nensycarblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Citroen
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My Top 10 Concept Cars of 2010

In less than two weeks, 2010 will draw to a close. So what better time to look back at the real stars of this year’s motor shows: the concept cars! Enter into a world where considerations like practicality and profitability fall by the wayside and the world’s designers and engineers show us their true potential. Let’s count down...my Top 10 Concept Cars of 2010!


10. Kia POP
Kia’s POP small electric vehicle study is a designer’s wet dream: a one piece glass windscreen and roof, scissor doors and an interior that looks more like a space capsule than a car. It also offers further proof that the South Korean company has evolved from a budget buyer’s first choice into a proper, world class automaker.


9. Citroen Lacoste
Again and again, Citroen has proved that it can do concept cars like no other automaker. Alas, with so many other awesome concepts this year, the Lacoste never made it further up our list than here. Still, this beach buggy for the 21^st century has some standout features like its funky LED dashboard, semi-open design and plastic-clad body.


8. Renault DeZir
Renault has never been so cool. In a perfect world, this electric two-seater would be the French automaker’s Audi R8. In reality, it’s just another fantastic shoulda-been from France’s dullest automaker (Renault Sport models notwithstanding).


7. Mercedes Benz BIOME
The BIOME is pure flight of fancy. Designed to be seeded in an orchard and grown like a cob of corn (no, really), the BIOME emits nothing but oxygen and marketing hyperbole. Am I the only one who thinks this looks a bit like the 2001 SEL from Spaceballs?


6. Peugeot EX1
Part car, part motorcycle: Peugeot’s eccentrically electric two-seat, three wheeler packs 250 kW / 340 hp between its narrow front wheels. This isn’t Peugeot’s first three wheel concept (remember 2005’s 20 Cup and 2009’s RD?) and is unlikely to be the last. Tres magnifique!


5. Lotus Elise
2010 has been a great year for Lotus concept cars, what with the Aston Martin Rapide rivalling Esterne and the relaunch of two classic nameplates in Esprit and Elan. Still, this teaser for the next-generation Elise is my favourite. 2013 can’t come too soon.


4. New Lancia Stratos
A fabulous one-off that’s drivable to boot, the new Stratos is underpinned by the same (if tweaked) 510 hp V8 that powers Ferrari’s 430 Scuderia. Designed and built by Italian design house Pininfarina, the new Statos recalls the much loved HF rally and road cars of the 1970s. Here’s hoping Pininfarina secures the licence to put this schoolboy’s wet dream into limited production.


3. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento
If there’s one 2010 concept car that divided opinion like no other, it’s Lamborghini’s Sesto Elemento. Between its stealth fighter styling, cacophony of oddly shaped intakes and outtakes and the de-saturated grey and red colour scheme, this was one of the wildest concepts to come out this year. Still, there’s no arguing with its 570 hp V10. We’ll take two.


2. Audi Quattro Concept
Raise your hand if you weren’t utterly enraptured by the rebirth of Audi’s ur-Quattro of the 1980s? No one? I thought as much. With its lightweight body, historically accurate 5-cylinder engine and 911-rivalling performance, what’s not to like? And the styling is to die for. The 1980s never looked so good.


1. Jaguar C-X75
And so here it is, my #1. 2010 had a lot of great concept cars, but none so much as Jaguar’s fabulous C-X75. Here is a gas / electric hybrid with 780 hp with a body fashioned out of texalium and vapour-blasted aluminium. This car is so cutting edge you have to wear gloves. It’s the perfect mix of exotic materials, futuristic technologies and pure styling jizz, and the top dog in our top ten.


So there you have My Top 10. What? You don't agree? Does putting a Kia on this list outrage your sensibilities? Are you disappointed that there are no American cars on the list? Is Jaguar's C-X75 and poorly conceived attempt to elevate the brand beyond its upper-class retiree roots? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
By Tristan Hankins





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2010 Citroen Metropolis Concept

2010 Citroen Metropolis Concept

2010 Citroen Metropolis Concept

2010 Citroen Metropolis Concept

2010 Citroen Metropolis Concept
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Peugeot RC HYmotion4 Concept Racing Car

With Citroen, Peugeot RC HYmotion4 is a field that is increasingly cluttered with hybrid concepts using a new system that can take the road to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. Fortunately for Peugeot, they have managed not just recycle or rebadge an existing model, but have incorporated this technology into an boldly attractive four door GT coupe.

Peugeot has joined sister-brand Citroen by releasing a concept vehicle based on the new HYmotion4 AWD hybrid system. The new concept is according to Peugeot, a ‘Touring Car Coupe’ that features a number of engineering and technological ideas expected to make their way, if only gradually, into both of the carmaker’s future production models. Unlike the hybrid systems used by current production vehicles, this concept has no direct mechanical connection between the electric and internal combustion drive systems. This way, the RC can operate in either rear, front, or all-wheel-drive modes. That means it can also operate using internal combustion, electric only or blended mode combining both. Propelling this concept is a rear mounted turbocharged 1.6 liter engine driving the rear wheels and producing 218 hp and 206 lb-ft of torque. Up front, an electric motor provides up to another 132 lb-ft of torque and provides a governed combined production of 313 horsepower. This sort of power pays of with acceleration to 62 mph in a mere 4.4 seconds. The electrons are stored in a lithium-ion battery pack of an as unreleased size, but having the electric motor at the front instead of the rear axle means that more kinetic energy can be recaptured through the regenerative braking process. According to Peugeot, the RC can get 52.3 mpg with a minimum output of just 109 g/km of CO2 emissions.

Other Hymotion4 concepts in the mix for the future include Peugeot’s Prologue, which previews an upcoming 3008 crossover, as well as the Citroen Hypnos and C4 WRC rally car. These concepts, according to the manufacturer, are a synthesis of ideas that demonstrate a commitment to both respecting the environment and driving pleasure. If all of the technology that is used within this concept lives up to the manufacturer claims, the French may have the inside track in future hybrid production.

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Peugeot and Citroen Announce All-Electric Minis Based on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV EV, Sales Start in 2010

Earlier this year, Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot Citroen announced that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding collaboration on electric vehicles (EVs) based on the Japanese firm's i-MiEV EV. Today, Osamu Masuko, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors and Philippe Varin, CEO of PSA, finished the deal by signing a cooperative agreement in Paris. The vehicle is to be sold in Europe in both Peugeot and Citroen versions with production planned to commence in October 2010 and sales by the end of 2010.
Mitsubishi launched the new-generation EV i-MiEV in Japan in June, and will begin global sales of the right-hand drive vehicle this year with LHD versions following in 2010.
In Japan, the EV i-MiEV is priced from 4,599,000 Yen (almost $50,00 US / €35,00 at today's rates), or more than double the price of a JDM Toyota Prius that costs 2,050,000 Yen or $22,000.
The all-electric version of the i-MIEV is powered by an electric motor that drives the rear wheels and develops an output of 47kW or 64HP and 180Nm or 132.8-lbs/ft of maximum torque.
According to Japanese automaker, the vehicle's lithium-ion battery pack that can be charged in 7-14 hours delivers up to 100 miles or 160 km of pure electric driving.
It is expected that the PSA group will follow a similar path to that of the Toyota co-developed Aygo, 107 and C1 project with the i-MiEV, meaning that the differences between the Citroen, Peugeot and Mitsubishi models will most likely be limited to the front fascia and the rear end design.
*The Peugeot picture above is a Carscoop Photoshop
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2010 Citroen C3: New High-Res Photo Gallery of French Hatch

We have no clue what's the hidden meaning behind a photo that shows the C3's buttocks, a sensual blond and what appears to be a photochoped statue of a horse wearing a lamp on its head, but it's refreshing to know that at least some automakers have good taste in women when it comes to hiring models for press shots. Just hit the jump to take a closer view at Citroen's updated gallery of the all-new C3 that will welcome the crowds at the all-important 2009 Frankfurt Show on September 15. For detailed info on Citroen's VW Polo rival, click here.

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