Innovation

Peugeot joins with Dongfeng to develop electric vehicles

Electric vehicle battery development will be the common ground used to cement the companies' partnership.

Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer Sept. 16, 2015 at 3:23 a.m. PT

PSA Peugeot Citroen and Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Group are coming together in a partnership focused on improving electric vehicle battery development.

At the 2015 Frankfurt car show on Wednesday, Peugeot's head of research and development Gilles Le Borgne told attendees electric vehicle (EV) battery development will be the common ground and starting point for the new partnership, which will eventually lead to the creation of a new EV by 2020.

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As reported by Reuters, Le Borgne said:

"We have development for battery electric vehicles, that will take place around 2020 and it will be a common development with our Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor."

An operating partnership with Mitsubishi related to current-generation electric vehicles is ongoing, the executive added.

EVs, the all-electric answer to fossil fuel-based traditional vehicles, are gaining traction as we look for ways to keep transport going in a world where fossil fuel supplies are dwindling. Reliance on electric power does take oil out of the equation, but low battery capabilities, high prices, a lack of charging stations and so-called "range anxiety" -- the fear of running out of juice on a journey -- are all areas which must be tackled before EVs have the chance to be adopted into the mainstream.

In July last year, Tesla and Panasonic announced the creation of the Gigafactory, an enormous Nevada-based factory dedicated to improving electric vehicle batteries.

At the show, Porsche revealed a 600-horsepower all-electric car which has a range of 330 miles and can charge up to 80 percent of its battery in 15 minutes. However, the Mission EV will not be on sale for a few years yet.