Speaking to news agency Headlineauto, Mr Picat said that the French brand has turned a corner, despite disappointing August sales figures in Europe, and is becoming less reliant on its home region.

Mr Picat said: ‘Our internationalisation plan is on track. We are now selling 45% of our vehicles outside Europe against 25% a year ago. As our home markets stagnate we need to concentrate more on emerging and growing markets.’

Peugeot's plan to push the brand upmarket is also on track, he said, although this does not mean competing with premium brands such as BMW, Mercedes or Audi.

He added: ‘This is not just about cars, but about the quality of our products and services and providing full mobility solutions. We also have to be able to adapt to market conditions much more quickly.

‘In China now we have new, younger customers who are still excited about cars while in Europe it's all about being connected while you are in the car.’

Picat said that the priority is now to work on the carmaker's image and make sure it is differentiated from stablemate Citroën.

He added: ‘We have to look at how we sell cars in a better way and we have all the ingredients within Peugeot. We also have to make sure we do not copy Citroën and end up fighting for customers in the same market.’

The brand, he said, would continue to look at complete mobility solutions such as Mu by Peugeot, where customers can buy into a scheme to change their vehicle to suit their needs. The scheme provides access to anything from a bicycle to a 3.5-tonne van, a child seat, a roof box, a scooter, or a sports coupé.

As far as technology is concerned, Peugeot will continue on the hybrid route he said, adding that pure electric vehicle sales have been disappointing.

He added: ‘EV sales are lower than even our lowest forecast and even if the hopes of 5% total global sales by 2020 are realised that is not a huge market in any scenario.’