Peugeot has shown off its new brand logo today, which does away with the old rampant lion in favour of the big pussycat's head set into a shield with the Peugeot name up top.
Return of 1960s style
If it all looks a bit familiar, it's because it looks remarkably similar to the badge Peugeot used in the early 1960s, but updated with a sharper font and more internet-friendly graphic design.
Presented by the brand's incoming new chief executive, Linda Jackson (formerly head of Citroen) the rebranding exercise extends beyond just a badge and is part of a driver further upmarket by Peugeot.
As part of that, there was a slightly cringe-worthy video accompanying the presentation, in which various trendy-looking types (some of whom appeared to be having a tea-party at the bottom of a swimming pool) proclaimed themselves to be 'Lions of our time.'
"We are preparing our brand for the decades ahead," said Jackson. "Strengthening the power of our design, our identity, and the relationship with our customers, offering them a time well spent. Throughout the whole experience. And this upmarket move finds its first expression today. In the new face of Peugeot, which we are pleased and proud to offer you an exclusive preview. A new lion, which in one fell swoop embodies, our legacy, our present, and our future."
Costs for dealerships
It's not just the badge on the car's that's changing, of course, but also the entire brand identity which will be rolled out to dealerships across the world. While some may question the sense of carrying out an expensive re-branding exercise when the world, and its car dealers, are still reeling from COVID lockdowns, Peugeot's senior staff insist that the re-branding can be rolled out quickly, and that it will be "very cost-effective" for dealers to upgrade to the new signage and so on.
"Our commitment to turn time into quality time represents a profound change for Peugeot" said Jackson. 'A brand forged by history and projecting itself with determination into an ultra modern future; modern in our relationship with our customers, who we place at the very heart of the Peugeot brand, offering them a unique and unparalleled quality experience. Mobility is not about kilometres. It's definitely about time. And we all want some quality time in our life, as well as in our mobility. Today, you have discovered a new face of Peugeot, a face shaped for the future that lies ahead of us. A future in which we have unshakable confidence."
High-performance plug-ins
That confidence is underpinned by some solid results for Peugeot in 2020. In spite of the pandemic, the French brand increased its market share across the world, other than in China last year. This year, it will break new ground by launching a medium-sized pickup for the first time, as well as inaugurating its new high-performance brand, Peugeot Sport Engineered, with a 340hp plugin-hybrid version of the 508.
As for the move upmarket, Peugeot clearly has ambitions to match Volkswagen, in offering a mass-market range for which it can charge quasi-premium prices. Jackson did not confirm that the prices of Peugeot models would rise, in line with the rebranding, but did say: "This is about adding value, about making our brand more desirable, and making sure that we have an excellent offer for our customers. It's not about individual model pricing, because everyone prices against the competition. But it's about making sure you have a positioning, a value, an attractiveness."
Interestingly, Peugeot made a big effort to ensure that the gorgeous, electric, e-Legend concept car (based on the 1970s 504 Coupe) featured large in the presentation of the new badge and branding. A hint that, just maybe, the car's chances of making production as an electric halo model haven't entirely gone away?