The HDi cars have done extremely well. Fifty-three percent of new Peugeot and Citroën passenger cars registered in Europe in 2003 were diesel-powered. Peugeot and Citroën manufactured 18% of new diesel-powered passenger cars in Western Europe in 2003 (compared with 12.4% of new petrol-fueled passenger cars).

As a company, PSA Peugeot Citroën is focusing on emissions and CO₂ reduction. (Climate change is taken much more immediately and seriously in Europe than in the US.) In addition to the work with clean diesels, the company is outspokenly focused on the following (from the PSA website):

Natural Gas Vehicles. The use of natural gas for vehicles (NGV) cuts CO₂ emissions by 25% compared with a standard petrol engine. PSA Peugeot Citroën is currently working on a more efficient catalytic treatment process for NGV combustion gases and developing improved fuel storage methods. The Peugeot and Citroën ranges already include NGV-powered passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. The priority is now to develop commercial vehicles like the Peugeot Boxer and the Citroën Relay for fleet applications. With abundant world reserves, natural gas will have a key role as an energy source of the future. [Assuming the Gas can get to market. But that’s a different topic.]

Electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are a solution to the challenge of urban pollution and an ideal part of any comprehensive strategy to improve urban transport. PSA Peugeot Citroën is the world leader in this field, with around 10,000 electric vehicles sold since their introduction in 1995.

Hybrid vehicles: “Stop & Start” technology. From 2004, the Group will launch its new “Stop & Start” technology, a system which turns off the engine whenever the vehicle stops - at a red light for example - then automatically and perceptibly switches it on again as soon as the driver touches the vehicle controls.

This intelligent Stop & Start system should lower fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by 5 to 8%, depending on the type of use. It should also help reduce urban traffic noise. It represents a first level of hybridization. The Group aims to equip 50,000 vehicles with the system by the end of 2006. [This is not a Prius-like hybrid drive.]

Fuel cells. Fuel cells are a key component of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s environmental strategy. Over the medium and long term, they will serve as a complementary energy source, ending the monopoly of hydrocarbons as vehicle fuels, and substantially reducing CO₂ emissions.

Biofuels. PSA Peugeot Citroën has made biofuels one of its main avenues of research. Produced from cereals or sugar beet in the case of ethanol and ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE), or from oil crops such as rapeseed and soybeans in the case of oil methyl esters, biofuels are renewable energy sources. PSA Peugeot Citroën is strongly encouraging the use of 30% rapeseed methyl ester (RME) in place of diesel fuel. The Group's fleet of diesel service vehicles already runs on RME. To increase petrol octane ratings without adding lead derivatives or aromatic hydrocarbons, the Group recommends using 8 to 12% ETBE derived from bioethanol.

The push for what would be B30 here (30% biodiesel blend) is terrific. Echoes the work DaimlerChrysler is doing with biodiesel. Another note about Citroën: it is working on a concept diesel hybrid.From AutoTech Daily:

Under a project partially funded by Britain’s transportation agency, PSA Peugeot Citroën is working with British suppliers Ricardo plc and QinetiQ Ltd. to develop a diesel-electric hybrid version of its Citroen Berlingo Multispace car. The hybrid is one of five vehicles that will receive up to 50% funding stemming from last year’s Ultra Low Carbon Challenge in the U.K.

Ricardo is taking the lead on integrating the parallel-hybrid drivetrain system and is expected to build a prototype of the vehicle within the next 18 months. The car will team the 92-hp 1.4-liter diesel engine used in the production Berlingo [This is an HDi engine, a version of which is in the C4.], PSA’s Sensodrive automated-manual transmission and a high-output DC electric motor. The latter will be used during low-speed operation as well as for boosting torque. It also will allow the diesel engine to be turned off while the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light and to recapture energy lost during braking.[An extension of the “Stop and Start” above.]

The hybrid vehicle is expected to get up to 95 mpg on the European driving cycle vs. about 66 mpg for a production Berlingo outfitted with a 1.4-liter diesel. Generating an estimated 89.5 g/km of carbon dioxide emissions, the vehicle promises to be the cleanest carbon-fueled vehicle ever. By comparison, the partners say the gasoline-electric Toyota Prius produces 104 g/km of CO₂. Britain has set a goal that one in 10 new vehicles achieve 100 g/km by 2012.

Fairly astounding numbers.