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Paris show spotlighting lower-emission models

Visitors check out the Peugeot BB1 electric concept car displayed at Peugeot show room on the Champs Elysee in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the opening of the Paris Auto Show.

AP photo

PARIS — European car makers are looking to a bevy of fuel-efficient, lower-emissions models going on display at the Paris Auto Show this week to weather a depressed market and new EU pollution standards.

It has been a miserable two years for the industry since the last Paris show in 2008, as the industry faced the worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression.

But while the worst of the global recession is past, car makers are aware that their market has changed. Consumers remain cautious and environmental rules are more stringent — and the auto industry hopes hybrids and electrics will be a big part of the way forward.

The spotlight will center on hometown favorites Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen, both of which will unveil road-ready hybrid and electric cars or light trucks to the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to attend the show between Oct. 2 and Oct. 17.

Among the most anticipated unveilings will be Peugeot’s 3008 HYbrid 4, the world’s first full diesel hybrid vehicle, and Renault’s Fluence Z.E. (for “zero emissions”), an all-electric mid-size sedan.

European car makers especially are under fierce pressure to sell smaller and less-polluting cars and light trucks to meet tightening European regulations on carbon dioxide emissions.

“The Future, Now” is the slogan organizers have chosen for this year’s edition of the show, which holds two days of media previews starting Thursday before opening to the public on Saturday.

The show — which dates back to 1898, making it the world’s oldest — will feature about 100 world and European premieres, organizers promise.

Other ready-to-roll green machines on display include Peugeot’s iOn, Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV and the Nissan Leaf.

Car sales in Europe will drop to 17.7 million this year from 18.2 million in 2009, according to J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting.