Citroen will join its sister brand Peugeot in showing a hybrid concept car at the Paris motor show in early October.

Citroen's Hypnos concept will unveil for the first time a new diesel-electric hybrid powertrain.

The concept's 200 horsepower engine will deliver "driving thrills" while returing 53 mpg, Citroen said.

The concept is a teaser for "a vehicle that doesn't exist, but which will soon," Pascal Henault, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's head of research and engineering told Automotive News Europe.

Citroen said Hypnos aims to merge coupe-like performance with sedan-like elegance and SUV roominess.

The Hypnos is the second hybrid concept that PSA has said it will debut at the Paris show.

Peugeot presented in August a four-door, four-seat gasoline-powered hybrid slated for unveiling during the Paris show.

The concept, which has the initials RC, can produce 313hp while emitting 109g/km when powered by its gasoline engine. In electric mode, the hybrid's CO2 emissions are zero.

The two hybrid concepts will showcase the French carmaker's plans for future fuel-efficient vehicles.

An announcement on timetables for the first product launches is expected during the Paris show.

Jean-Philippe Collin, Peugeot brand head, recently said that PSA will roll out hybrid diesels on some cars and crossover SUVs in 2011.

Henault confirmed that the French carmaker will initially use hybrid powertrains in its upper-range cars, where higher sticker prices can absorb additional research and development costs.

"The costs of developing hybrids are high, so we have to look first to the premium sector," Henault said.

"Depending on how the market develops, we hope to also use the hybrid technology on more conventional products," including smaller cars, he said.