This paper is part of an effort to reduce a vehicle’s CO2 emissions through lightweight design. The originality of the approach consists in harnessing the optimal vehicle architecture with regard to CO2 emissions. Reducing a vehicle’s weight provides an opportunity to reassess performance features like shock, noise, vibrations and road holding, thereby generating additional savings through a virtuous cycle of weight reduction. The paper sheds light on some methodological aspects used by PSA Peugeot-Citroen for designing lightweight vehicles.