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PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has announced it is looking for partners to launch diesel hybrids across Europe.

The group is hoping that other carmakers will join forces with PSA and launch the vehicles within the next five years.

Jean Martin Folz, chief executive at PSA, said: "We plan on marketing several tens of thousands diesel hybrid cars in the M1 [lower-medium] segment from 2010."

Currently, PSA is looking to cut the manufacturing costs of the car, including the motor, braking system and batteries. The reason for this is the high expense of the powertrain needed for the hybrid vehicles.

Mr Folz went on to say that PSA is looking for "partnership with suppliers to find economies of scale", reports Channel 4.

The news comes shortly after PSA unveiled the Citroen C4 and Peugeot 307 M1 cars with diesel hybrid powertrains. Both have 1.6-litre engines and electric motors.

It is known that other automotive manufacturers are working on diesel hybrids, but so far none have announced intentions to market these.

Ford, which already has a partnership with PSA to manufacture certain engines, has a diesel hybrid concept - the Reflex - which comes with a 1.4-litre engine.

Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz unveiled an S-Class diesel hybrid with a V8 engine at the Detroit motor show, which took place last month.