Peugeot 206 - The Project

The Project

During the early 1990s, Peugeot decided not to directly replace the Peugeot 205, citing the reason that superminis were no longer profitable or worthwhile. Instead, Peugeot followed a unique strategy and decided that its new, smaller, supermini, the Peugeot 106 (launched in 1991) would take sales from the lower end of the 205 range while the lowest models of the Peugeot 306 range, launched in 1993 to replace the Peugeot 309, would take sales from the top-end 205s. Between the 106 and 306, Peugeot hoped that the 205 would not need to be replaced, and could be phased out slowly, while customers who would normally plump for the 205 would continue to have a choice with either a smaller or larger car.

Unfortunately for Peugeot, this strategy did not work. With the 205 phased out, other superminis like the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo continued to sell well and even increased in popularity, and without a direct competitor to these cars Peugeot was losing sales fast. A new supermini was required, and the 206 was launched in 1998 as a somewhat belated replacement for the 205.

Although the 206 naming indicates a direct continuation from the 205, some critics state that the car should have instead been badged 207. This is because Peugeot launched its latest generation of cars in the early to mid 1990s, with the 106 of 1991, the 306 of 1993 and the 406 of 1995.

Its eventual successor - the Peugeot 207 - was launched in 2006. As of 2010, the twelve-year-old 206 was Peugeot's best-selling car of all time.

It was built in France and England until the end of 2006. The end of British production coincided with the closure of the Ryton plant which Peugeot had taken over when buying Chrysler's European division in 1979.

From April 2010, the Peugeot 206 was no longer listed on Peugeot's current UK model range, implying that RHD production ended. LHD production finished in June 2010.