I still remember the time I spent selling cars for a reputable brand of the now defunct PSA Groupe. At that time, the top managers of that French brand told us (almost imposed) that we had to sell one thing to customers. “Customers want gasoline cars and we have the best engines, the PureTech ones”. That was the mantra and what we had to say and as the saying goes: "From that dust comes this mud." A failure...
On paper, the PureTech gasoline engines were a marvel, but the result has been a fiasco.And I have to say that I have experienced that feeling in person because with only 65 thousand kilometers I almost lost one of the cars that equipped it, a Citroen C5 AirCrossThe fact is that Stellantis has reacted (somewhat late) but they have put themselves in place and They have solved it with a distribution chain. And also, they have decided to kill him de facto.
Stellantis has solved the problem with the EB family engines but the PureTech name does not help sales…
As we all know, the EB engine family from the now defunct PSA Groupe has gone bad. I still remember when the firm gave us the training and said that The timing belt was changed at 180 thousand kilometers. Not only that, but he also told us that it was lubricated by oil vapours and that this made it “harder” and more resistant. More than one client told us that “that was a long time, otherwise it would cause problems”, and this has been the case.
Then there is the problem of high oil consumption which could lead to a "good" breakdown. One and the other have overlapped and customers have become angry with the brands and technical assistance networks of these brands. Today everything is completely fixed because they have taken three decisions. The first change the belt to a timing chain which, in theory, is not more complicated since if it is "good" it should not break anymore.
That solution was the first one they put into practice. It was then accompanied by improving the block and Review the entire design to avoid high oil consumption. This did not come until last year 2023 when the public image of the PureTech engine was very damaged. So the third decision they made was extend the commercial warranty of all the models they sold to 10 years (which were not few) equipped with this engine.
The fact is that Stellantis is having many problems. Even The brand they have to sell used and second-hand cars is struggling to sell their own cars. Customers don't want them because they are already aware that these engines are "delicate" and therefore they cannot sell off the stock. On these models they have extended the warranty to 10 years but Spoticar has a difficult time. Although after having killed it, who knows...
So they have simply “erased” the name and continued selling the engines…
Up to this point you probably know the story very well, so It's time to talk about how Stellantis has killed the PureTech engine. Well, the "death" of this engine has not been de facto with its withdrawal, since the EB family is still standing and will not disappear for a simple reason. The last update that this engine has undergone has been the chain to prevent breakage and to control oil consumption and prevent the engine from seizing. And the public does not notice these improvements...
As of September 1, Peugeot has removed the PureTech name from all its communications.. That is how Stellantis is going to kill this problematic engine. This solution is like they say in marketing, “If the customer doesn’t know the product, he won’t buy it.” Well, they have estimated that if people don’t see that name in their advertising, they will forget about it and therefore will have no doubts when buying a car with this engine…
For now, Peugeot is the only brand in the Stellantis group that has "killed" the PureTech engine. Erasing his name would be radical, but there are still brands from the group that continue to use it. Citroën y DS They still have it on their websites and it is very likely that they will make this decision soon. Opel has never used this name and Fiat He doesn't wear it either, so it will be less traumatic in these cases. And for you What do you think about the death of the PureTech engine?
Tell us…
Source - L'argus
Images | Stellantis
More information about this model
- Plazas 5
- Power 75 - 156 hp
- Consumption 4,1 - 5,4l/100km
- Assessment 4,3