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Peugeot has added mild-hybrid tech to its smallest car – promising Corolla Hybrid-like fuel consumption – but it comes at a price, despite slow sales of the current version.
The 2025 Peugeot 308 range has been slashed to one hatchback variant with the introduction of mild-hybrid power designed to cut fuel use and emissions.
It has been accompanied by a $5000 price rise – now starting from $48,990 plus on-road costs – despite just 140 Peugeot 308s being reported as sold so far this year, outsold nearly 16 to one by the VW Golf.
Peugeot now offers the 308 in a single model grade, the GT Hybrid hatch, which sits between the outgoing $43,990 GT and $48,990 GT Premium in terms of specification.
The Peugeot 308 wagon has been culled, which – once stock of the 308 and also-axed 508 wagons sells out – will leave the French car maker without a long-roof 'estate' for the first time in 30 years.
It is the latest Peugeot model to drop plug-in hybrid and pure petrol options in favour of a mild-hybrid-only line-up.
Powering the 308 GT Hybrid is a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol three-cylinder aided by a small electric motor and 0.9kWh, 48-volt battery pack, with the engine said to deliver 100kW/230Nm – up 4kW on the outgoing non-mild-hybrid variant.
It is classified as a mild-hybrid, but unlike other systems of its type, Peugeot claims the 308 Hybrid can run on electric power at low speeds, for very short distances.
The French brand claims the car is "capable of operating more than 50 per cent of the time in 100 per cent zero-emission electric mode," though it does not state if this is based on lab testing, and if so, which test cycle has been used.
Fuel consumption is rated at 4.2L/100km – down more than 20 per cent from 5.3L/100km previously, and comparable to the 4.0L/100km of a Toyota Corolla Hybrid, which is a higher-voltage 'full hybrid' capable of driving further on electric power alone.
CO2 emissions of 95 grams per kilometre are quoted, a reduction of 21 per cent.
The electric motor is integrated into the new six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which replaces the current model's eight-speed torque-converter auto.
The 308 GT Hybrid gains features previously offered only on the petrol-only GT Premium, including a panoramic glass sunroof, lane-centring assist, and grey-finished alloy wheels.
Orders are now open for the 2025 Peugeot 308 GT Hybrid, ahead of first deliveries due in the first quarter of next year (January to March).
2025 Peugeot 308 GT Hybrid standard features include:
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.
