PACESETTING technology to clean up diesel engine exhaust emissions will be standard on Peugeot's replacement for the 306, at least a year before the new carbon dioxide- based company car tax regime comes into force. A unique particle filter trap system (FAP) will be used to set the vital newcomer apart in the most hotly-contest part of the European car market when it appears at the end of next year.

The 306 is the UK's best selling diesel car, and its replacement will have a full year on UK roads before the introduction of the new CO2-based company car tax which looks set to reward new technology 'clean' diesel. 'We spent a lot of money to develop the FAP system specifically for our flagship 607 model and the result is that we now have a significant advantage in this very important area. Naturally, we intend to make the most of it in commercial terms,' Peugeot managing director Frederic Sant Geours told Fleet NewsNet.

The 306 replacement, which could make a debut in prototype form at next year's Paris Motor Show, is expected to go into volume production from the start of 2001 to allow Peugeot to mount a renewed challenge against the Focus, Astra and Golf across key European markets. FAP eliminates particles and smoke - and PSA claims the system does not affect engine performance when the material it traps is burned off at intervals of between 400km and 500km in an automatic process that takes only two to three minutes and is said to be imperceptible to the driver.