@stevefowler
NOWHERE are the signs of where Peugeot is heading more apparent than in the showroom we’re visiting on the outskirts of Paris. It may look like a regular car dealership from the outside, but once the automatic doors glide open, we’re greeted with a cool, dark, sophisticated space with carefully positioned cars alongside fashionable furniture and displays of what else Peugeot can offer you – from salt and pepper grinders to drinks holders.
Also unfamiliar to us in these surroundings is the sight of Linda Jackson waiting to greet us. She is well known to Auto Express, having been inducted into the Auto Express Hall of Fame after she topped 2017’s Brit List (see panel opposite). Amazingly, it’s nearly two years since Linda took the role of CEO of Peugeot, but – for obvious reasons – this is our first opportunity for a face-to-face chat, and to hear of her plans for the famous French manufacturer.
First, though, we take her back to 2021 and the call from Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares asking her to take the helm of one of the parent company’s biggest names. “If Carlos had asked me, ‘Which brand would you like?’ I’d have chosen Peugeot,” says Jackson. “And when
