MANILA, Philippines - The ranking issued recently by France’s National Intellectual Property Institute (INPI) has confirmed that, once again, PSA Peugeot Citroën is the country’s leading patent filer, with 1,378 patent applications published in France in 2013. These patents, filed between July 2011 and June 2012, reflect the ongoing commitment of the group in R&D.
Anticipation and innovation are the keys to meeting the major challenges of tomorrow’s mobility. This creative energy, which is the Group’s strength, is reflected in particularly effective vehicles and components. Examples include the highly popular new Peugeot 308, voted 2014 Car of the Year; the new EB Turbo PureTech 3-cylinder petrol engine, which recently set a low fuel consumption record on a Peugeot 308 at 2.85 litres per 100 kilometres.
Connectivity (multimedia equipment, networks, wiring, electronics and human-machine interface) and driving assistance systems are important areas for research and patent filings. Innovations such as the Driver Assistance Pack, Emergency Collision Alert System and Emergency Collision Braking System on the new Peugeot 308 point to the autonomous car of tomorrow.
In addition, PSA Peugeot Citroën is pursuing its efforts to continuously reduce the fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions of Peugeot and Citroën vehicles. In late 2013, the Group reached a new milestone in reducing diesel emissions with the new Blue HDi exhaust system, which uniquely combines Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) technologies to eliminate 99.9 percent of particulates and 90 percent of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from diesel engines. This innovation alone accounted for more than 100 patents.
This active patent strategy delivers competitive advantage, while allowing the Group to control the use of its proprietary innovations.