A slew of Peugeot & Renault EV models are coming to Australia this year

Since the Renault Zoe stopped being sold in 2020, there has been a dearth of quirky French EV options for Australian car buyers.

That all changed in late 2023 when Peugeot announced they would be bringing their e-2008 SUV to our shores which was swiftly followed by Renault announcing they would be bringing the Megane e-Tech as well.

Fast forward to March 2024 and we now have both of those models available in Australia, with three more French electric cars being launched in Australia later this year by Peugeot and hints from Renault that they could potentially bring the popular Renault 5 to Australia if there's enough demand.

Let's start with the French EVs already here:

Peugeot e-2008

The e-2008 SUV is PEUGEOT's first 100% electric passenger vehicle to launch in Australia and the only French EV I have test driven so far. It is based on a design shared with the equivalent Peugeot petrol model.

It has a 50 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, delivering a maximum power output of 100 kW and 260 Nm of torque.

Priced at $59,990 plus on roads, the e-2008 comes with a WLTP range of 328km and 0-80% charging time at up to 100kW DC fast charging rate of 30 minutes.

This EV is mainly aimed at Peugeot enthusiasts because there are a lot of established well selling EV's in Australia between $60,000-$70,000 including on road costs and the e-2008's range of 328km is less than EV SUV competition such as the Hyundai Kona 2024.

Renault Megane e-Tech

The Renault Megane e-Tech is the first electric Renault passenger car to be sold in Australia for several years and is a pure EV based on the purpose-built CMF-EV platform

I haven't test driven it yet but plan to in mid April.

It has a 60 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, delivering a maximum power output of 160 kW and 300 Nm of torque.

Priced at $64,990 plus on roads, the Megane e-Tech comes with a WLTP range of 454km and 15-80% charging time at up to 130kW DC fast charging rate of 30 minutes.

This EV is going to be more competitive than the Peugeot e-2008 thanks to a pure EV design, more power and much greater range. However it faces tough competition such as the market leading Tesla Model Y.

Peugeot e-3008

Let's move on to a model that just launched here a few days ago and will be sold in Australia later in 2024. Australian specifications are not yet known.

The Peugeot e-3008 will be the second electric Renault passenger car to be sold in Australia and is a pure EV based on the new Stellantis STLA Medium platform.

It's a mid size SUV and UK specs are 73kWh battery pack, base model WLTP range of 318 miles (511 km) and maximum up to 160kW DC fast charging rate to reach 20-80% in 30min.

Peugeot e-208

The Peugeot e-208 electric hatchback is confirmed for Australian launch in 2024 but we have no local specifications as yet.

Hopefully Australia gets the latest 2024 version. New Zealand has already had the previous generation Peugeot e-208 on sale for some time.

In the UK there are 3 versions of the Peugeot e-208. We are more likely to get one mid or higher spec version since we're a smaller market.

The base UK model e-208 has a 50 kWh battery pack, WLTP range of 225 miles (362 km) and maximum up to 100kW DC fast charging rate to reach 80% in 30min.

The Peugeot e-308 electric hatch back is confirmed for Australian launch in 2024 but we have no specifications as yet.

In the UK there are 2 versions of the Peugeot e-308. Both UK model e-308 have a 54 kWh battery pack and WLTP range of 257 miles (413 km). The difference between them is in their level of inclusions.