In an interview with radio station Europe1 on Tuesday, French Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand revealed that PSA Peugeot-Citroen CEO Philippe Varin informed the government that the automaker is talking to General Motors about forming an alliance.

Reuters reported that GM, which is the world’s number one automaker, and the PSA Group, which is the second largest carmaker in Europe, are not discussing a merger, but sharing vehicles and parts. Furthermore, any capital exchange between them would be minimal and purely symbolic.

Peugeot is going to give it another try in Honk Kong as the French carmaker announced today that it is re-launching the brand after a three-year absence from the market.

For this reason, Peugeot renewed its partnership with local dealer Sime Darby, which will manage imports, distribution and marketing in Hong-Kong and Macau. Sime Darby is also the importer of the Peugeot Brand, in Australia, in New Zealand and Singapore.

"What if you let your body drive?" is the name of Peugeot's new interactive short film that's supposed to campaign about the freshly launched 208 supermini, though you won't actually see the car until the very end of the seven minute-long video and only for about 20 seconds.

That's not to say the clip isn't interesting to watch, it's just that there's not much to connect it with the 208...

The film shows a man running around naked for the most part and getting himself into all sorts of bizarre situations after his girlfriend caught him with another woman. Given the amount of rear-end nudity (the front grille has been blurred out) in Peugeot's film, we'll have to warn you that it's definitely not for work.

There's a lot of news coming out of Peugeot's headquarters today, and it's all about the 2012 edition of the Geneva Motor Show.

After the presentation of the 208 XY and 208 GTi concept models earlier today, the French brand unleashed a new batch of pictures of the 4008 in the outside world, including the first images of the interior.

You may recall from our first story on the 4008 that it is based on the Mitsubishi ASX, also known as the Outlander Sport in the States, and RVR in Japan and Canada. The ASX itself uses a shortened version of the regular Outlander's platform that also forms the base for the larger Peugeot 4007 and Citroen C-Crosser SUVs.

The 4008 measures 4,340mm long (295mm shorter than the 4007), 1,800mm wide and 1,630mm tall, and rides on a 2,670mm long wheelbase, offering a boot volume of 416 liters with a spare wheel and up to 442 liters with a puncture repair kit.

While most gearheads will focus their attention on the 208 GTi Concept, Peugeot has readied a second study based on its freshly launched supermini. This one is called the 208 XY Concept and it will also debut at the 2012 Geneva Auto Salon in a couple of weeks' time.

The 208 XY study could be Peugeot's answer to the more upscale Citroen DS3 sub-compact model. Premium touches on the outside include a bespoke ‘Pulsion’ paintwork that Peugeot says has the ability to change color depending on the distance and the position from which it is viewed. It is created with sixteen coats of paint and lacquer.

Peugeot has a very long history in the hot hatchback segment that spans more than three decades and it promises to continue the tradition with the newly introduced 208 supermini that forms the base for the new GTi Concept, which will make its first public appearance at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012.

While the Peugeot 208 GTi comes with a concept tag, a production version is a done deal and could be revealed as early as this autumn at the 2012 Paris Motor Show with sales likely to kick off next year.

The 208 GTi is based on the regular three-door hatchback model and features a subtle aero kit with elegant wheel arch extensions that make room for the beefier five-spoke alloy wheels, side skirts, a roof spoiler and a neat looking rear diffuser with two chromed tailpipes.

We just received word that the teaser picture released by French carmaker Peugeot earlier today is indeed the 208 GTi Concept as we suspected and it will make its world premiere at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon in the beginning of March.

The 208 GTi Concept will be powered by the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine Peugeot shares with BMW’s fast Minis. The study will be very close to the production model that will follow in less than a year's time.

Over the past three decades, Peugeot has made a name for itself in the hot hatch market with cars like the 205 GTI/Rallye/Turbo, the 106 Rallye/GTi and the 206 RC/GTi.

Naturally, the recent presentation of the 208 supermini meant that the French carmaker is getting ready to revive the RC / GTi moniker. This may happen sooner than we think as Peugeot just published a teaser photo of a double tip exhaust on its Facebook page with the caption "Is the myth coming back?"

In a move that reminds us a lot of what Fiat-Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne told the Italian government not too long ago, both Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroen executives told French parliamentary officials in separate appearances before the Senate that they can't make a profit from building cars in France.

According to a report from Autonews Europe, the Renault Group was represented by chief operating officer Carlos Tavares, while PSA Peugeot-Citroen sent Denis Martin, executive vice president for industrial operations. Both automakers confirmed the comments.

Tavares told the French commissions that one of Renault's most popular models, the Clio, costs €1,300 (US$1,700) more to produce at the firm's Flins plant in France than in the company's factory in Bursa, Turkey.

These new spy pictures show a test mule of the Peugeot 308 compact hatchback's replacement being tested in Europe. While the exterior panels of the prototype are from the current 308, underneath it’s a different story as it rides on a new platform with wider front and rear tracks that's shared with the Citroen C4 and DS4 models.

The French firm's new model will likely be named 301, as Peugeot would like to skip the 309 moniker that was used on its 1980s compact hatch.

Like the smaller 208, Peugeot's Golf rival is expected to be both more compact in length and lighter than the model it replaces with obvious benefits in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions.

The sixth generation of the Volkswagen Golf is in its final year with a replacement due to be unveiled at the upcoming Paris Motor Show this fall, yet it still managed to sell more cars than any other model in Europe in 2011 for a third year in a row, according to data provided from JATO Dynamics.

Volkswagen delivered 484,547 units of the Golf in 2011, down 1.6% over the previous year. The German company also took second spot with the Polo that sold 356,490 cars, up 0.5%, while the Ford Fiesta with 348,465 sales (-13.3%), the Opel / Vauxhall Corsa with 313,325 units (-1.7%) and the Renault Clio with 294,172 (-13.1%) complete the Top 5.

We should note that all Top 10 best-sellers came from either German (7 models) or French (3 models) brands.

JATO Dynamics says that outside the top ten, certain models performed much better than their predecessors did including Peugeot’s new 508, which saw its sales rise almost three times achieved by its predecessor, the 407, in 2010, the new Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max, Citroën C4, BMW X3 and Kia Sportage.

It’s a sad day for fans of the Peugeot Le Mans racing team as the French carmaker announced today it is pulling out from the endurance race series and will not be taking part in the next Le Mans 24 Hours.

Now, if you're wondering why the French company is abandoning the series after a successful run with 14 victories in the last 16 races, including a double at the Le Mans 24 Hours 2009 as part of the ILMC championship won by Peugeot two years in a row in 2010 and 2011, the answer is financial difficulties.

Even though the new 208's launch isn’t schedule until spring, Peugeot has already started releasing limited editions versions of its latest supermini.

The first special edition is named “Ice Velvet” and it will be produced in just 650 units. It will be sold in 18 European countries, with 208 cars earmarked for France where it will cost €23,500.

Being that the Citroën C1, Peugeot 107 and Toyota Aygo are not only one and the same (minus some subtle styling differences here and there), but also built at the same plant in the Czech Republic, it is to be expected that when one model receives a facelift, the other two will follow suit.

And true enough, after the announcement on the 2012 Citroën C1, Peugeot also revealed an updated version of its 107 sibling.

Peugeot usually designs beautiful cars. The mid-1980's 309 wasn’t one of them, perhaps because it was originally meant to replace the Chrysler/Simca/Talbot Horizon – until Peugeot axed the Talbot brand, and thus the 309 was born.

Almost no one really missed it when it was replaced in 1993 by the much more coherent 306 (though the 309 continued to be built in India until the late 1990s).

And the reason why we're telling you all this is because the 308's replacement, a test mule of which is featured in these scoops, will most likely be named 301, a moniker last used in the 1930s, to avoid any connection with the unloved 309.

Our scoop photographers have snagged a prototype of the Peugeot 5008 minivan while testing on the snow-covered roads of Germany.

The only visible differences between the production version of the 5008 and the test car seen here are the prototype's widened front and rear fenders.

A new research study from Peugeot, which polled over 2,000 people in the United Kingdom, reveals that a significant number of British drivers are often more concerned about their car than their other half.

According to the "RCZ Study" commissioned by the French carmaker, 50 percent of men in Britain confess that they find their partner more difficult to maintain than their vehicle and 1 in 10 guys admit to being more fascinated with their cars’ curves than their partners.

The world’s most famous car show, BBC’s Top Gear, has had more than its fair share of controversies, mainly due to the sardonic comments of host Jeremy Clarkson.

Never mind the “greens”, Jeremy’s current favorite car is the Mercedes-Benz SLS. He is a petrolhead and apparently, not too fond of electric vehicles. Especially since the Tesla Roadster incident which led to the two parties becoming engaged in a legal battle.

Apart from being a car show, though, Top Gear is also about entertainment. This prompted two fans of the show to record a spoof video demonstrating an “eco race” between two zero emission vehicles: a “Nissan Leaf” and a “Peugeot iOn”.

After yesterday’s leak of the first pictures of the new Peugeot 208, the French company went ahead and officially revealed its brand-new supermini that will replace the current 207 series.

The A9 project, which is the new 208’s internal designation, is very important for Peugeot as it will compete in the highly competitive European B-segment rivaling the likes of the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris.

Its significance for Peugeot is evident in the marketing tag applied by the company's management: “Re-Generation”. The French firm's Marketing and Communications Director, Xavier Peugeot, said: “The 208 is a new illustration of the marque’s project launched two years ago, representing a new stage in Peugeot’s desire to drive itself towards even greater modernity.”

The brand-new 2012 Peugeot 208 wasn't supposed to make its official appearance until later this week, but the first photos of the French supermini have already hit the interwebs.

The 208 is the successor to the Peugeot 207 that has been in production since 2006, and it will compete against the likes of the Volkswagen Polo and Fiat Punto in the highly popular in Europe, B-segment.

According to the first details that were published along with the pictures, the 208 is more compact than the 207 measuring 3,975mm long, or 70mm less than its predecessor. More importantly, Peugeot's engineers managed to reduce the weight by a whopping 110kg or close to 250 pounds on average across the range.