Peugeot 206

Lore & Background

During the early 1990s, Peugeot decided not to directly replace the Peugeot 205, believing superminis were no longer profitable. Instead, it hoped the Peugeot 106 and 306 would cover the 205's market range. This strategy failed, and with the 205 phased out, Peugeot lost sales to competitors like the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo. A new supermini was required, and the 206 was launched in September 1998 as a belated replacement. On 7 April 1994, president Jacques Calvet approved the T1 development program, with launch planned by 1997. The in-house design team was led by Peugeot's Head of Design, Murat Günak. The design was fixed six months after project approval, and the project took 34 months from design freeze to start of production. Development costs totaled 6.3 billion francs, with intensive use of IT as it was Peugeot's first car designed with a digital mock-up and crash simulations. The prototype was extensively tested on the Belchamp test circuit in the Valentigney forest. Peugeot developed an all-new front-drive platform for the 206.

The 206 was originally launched with 1.1L, 1.4L, and 1.6L petrol engines and a 1.9L diesel, with an HDi version later. In 1999 a 2.0L GTi capable of 210 km/h was added, and in 2003 a tuned version called the Peugeot 206 RC (GTi 180 in the UK) did 0–100 km/h in 7.4 seconds and reached 220 km/h with 177 PS. In 2001, the 206 CC (coupé convertible) with a folding steel roof and the 206 SW station wagon were launched. A 4-door notchback sedan, developed by Iran Khodro, was unveiled in late 2005. The 206 was mainly manufactured in Peugeot's Poissy and Mulhouse factories in France until 18 December 2012, as well as in Ryton, United Kingdom, and outside Europe in Iran, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, China, Indonesia and Malaysia. In 2003 it received a minor facelift with clear headlights, different rear clusters, and other revisions. A facelifted version launched in South America in September 2008 and in China in November 2008, marketed as the 207 Compact or 207, and in Europe in February 2009 as the 206+.

Reader's Guide

The Peugeot 206 proved to be a sales success all over Europe, one of the best-selling cars in Europe from 2001 to 2003 and the best car of the year in the UK for three consecutive years between 1998 and 2001. The 1.4-litre XR was the best-selling model. On 26 May 2005, the 206 celebrated the five millionth unit produced since its commercial launch on 10 September 1998. Sales in the United Kingdom were strong from the start, with the 206 regularly among the nation's five most popular new cars during its first six years on sale. Second-hand examples traditionally held their value well due to high demand. The 206 was also produced in Brazil from 2001 with flexible fuel engines, and in Argentina from July 1999 to 7 December 2016. In May 2006, Malaysian manufacturer Naza launched a locally assembled version called the 206 Bestari. In China, Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën launched a slightly modified 206 called the Citroën C2 in September 2006. The 206 SW, developed under codename T12, was released in March 2002 and manufactured at the Ryton plant; 366,000 units were produced by the end of its production. The 206 SD sedan, codenamed T13, was jointly designed by the Peugeot Design Center for Iran Khodro and exported to several countries. The 206 CC, codenamed T16, was based on the Peugeot 20Coeur concept car and featured a powered fold-away roof based on the Georges Paulin system first seen on the 1935 Peugeot 402 Eclipse coupe. The roof-trunk modules were manufactured by Heuliez in Cerizay, France.

Did You Know?

• The 206 CC's folding steel roof system was based on a design first used on the 1935 Peugeot 402 Eclipse coupe.
• In Iran, sales of the Peugeot 206 were discontinued in 2024.