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BusinessCar Office Blog: 24 April 2009 - So what is the 3008?
Date: 24 April 2009 | Author: Tom Webster
The press conference at the launch of the new Peugeot 3008 left us, and several other journalists, scratching our heads.
The issue was with Peugeot's positioning of the car in the market. In fact, the impression given was that it hadn't positioned it at all. There was no talk of what models it would be competing with, no indication of pricing and no signal of intent to attack one particular segment of bodystyles.
For selling to retail customers this approach is fine. Many manufacturers have recently pushed the line that their latest model is "groundbreaking," "unique," or "forging a new niche in the market".
All these things are positive when you are selling to a retail buyer who wants to be seen to be in the latest car, which is perceived to be a little bit different.
The fleet market isn't quite so forgiving though, and will be more resistant to radical new ideas.
If a car can't be compared to a rival, how do you know it is the cheapest available?
It took until dinner after the press conference for a Peugeot representative to admit that the 3008 would most likely be placed in the MPV sector for residual value calculation. Far better it goes there than in the 4x4 box, which might see it struck off some fleets' lists before it's been given a second glance.
