Upmarket Peugeot has a new corporate vibe.

There are no lions in France, but this has never been an issue for Peugeot’s corporate identity.

The French brand has featured a lion of some configuration since 1850, with only eleven iterations of the design spread over 170 years. In the world of corporate identity, that’s impressive.

For South Africans, the most iconic and recognisable Peugeot badge is the leaping lion of Belfort, but with the brand now part of Stellantis, things are changing.

The enormous corporate merger between PSA and FCA has necessitated a redesign of Peugeot’s logo, to give it the desired ‘positioning’ within the new Stellantis structure. According to Peugeot’s official position, this new lion design is supposed to project the brand’s upmarket product trend.

It would appear that Stellantis sees Peugeot as being a more upmarket brand than Citroen. This is in relation to Alfa Romeo, DS and Lancia, which are qualified as ‘premium’ brands, despite the latter delivering products which are hardly worthy of that epithet.

Those followers of all things Peugeot will recognize the bold lettering and distinct shape of this reshaped logo, not to mention its very bold lion’s head.

Design director, Matthias Hossain, explains the new logo. "A coat of arms has always been a symbol of unity. Both multicultural and international. It stands for pride, togetherness and protection. Peugeot used it before and so it forms the connection between our past and our future plans. And the lion has always remained because he stands for strength, might and security.”

Don’t expect the new Peugeot logo locally, until much later this year, when the first updated vehicles are shipped to the South African market.

The new Peugeot brand identity will be marketed globally with a campaign tagline ‘Lions of our time’. Should go down a treat, in South Africa. Especially in lion rich provinces such as Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

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