With car manufacturers still struggling to decide the best power sources for their cars in the future, Peugeot has come up with a solution that it thinks could be the answer. It is not efficient petrol, all-electric or even conventional hybrid, but what it calls a Hybrid Air. 

Based on the Peugeot 2008, the car has a conventional engine linked to hydraulic air motor and pump so that it can provide zero-emissions, air powered city driving. While it is moving, air is pumped into a cylinder using surplus energy from the petrol engine, plus energy from the wheels and heat from the brakes. The air is then released at lower speeds allowing the car to run on air, petrol, or a combination of the two. The air feature is auto activated at speeds below 43mph.

Peugeot believes the big advantage of this system is that its offers the benefits of a hybrid without the need for heavy and expensive batteries. The car is also highly economical with a current MPG rating of 94 miles per gallon.

The air powered sports utility vehicle is expected to go on sale in 2016 and will be the first of a new generation of Peugeots and Citroens running partly air.