Peugeot 508 To Die In The UK This Year

Peugeot’s swoopy saloon and estate will be taken off sale in response to the UK’s ZEV mandate

06 Aug 2024

The Peugeot 508 is a highly likeable car – handsome, flawed but entertaining in sporty PSE form, and one of a dwindling number of trad saloons and estates still available in the UK market. Sadly, it won’t be for much longer, as it’s been announced that the 508 will be dropped from the UK this December.

The decision was confirmed by Peugeot to Autocar, and it’s a result of the UK government’s zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate. This legislation, in short, sets a target for manufacturers to ensure a certain percentage of their UK sales are EVs, beginning at 22 per cent this year. Each non-compliant car sold above that threshold will see companies slapped with a £15,000 fine.

The 508 is the only car Peugeot currently sells here that doesn’t have a fully electric version either already on sale or on the horizon. Peugeot’s statement said: “We have chosen to focus even further on our electric models in the UK, with the ZEV mandate giving us a clear direction to do this. As a result of this, every one of Peugeot’s passenger cars is now available in both battery-electric and hybrid powertrains.”

It’s also not been a particularly strong seller for the French brand, with only around 7,000 508s finding UK homes since the second-generation car went on sale in 2019.

It’s nonetheless a further blow to the saloon and estate markets in the UK, leaving precious few of these body styles still on sale as crossovers continue their relentless climb up the sales charts.

According to Autocar, the 508 will remain on sale in the UK until December, with a much-reduced range: it’ll be available exclusively as a plug-in hybrid in posh GT trim. The news also spells the early UK demise of Peugeot’s short-lived PSE performance badge, which is set to disappear with the current 508.

Peugeot's statement only mentions the UK, with no word on whether it's set to stay on sale in other markets. The 508 received a facelift just last year, suggesting it was planned to be on sale for at least a couple more years. Nevertheless, Autocar reports that an all-electric third-generation will appear in 2025, at which point the name could be poised for a UK return.

The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.