Stellantis Malaysia Begins Operations, Teases Jeep And Alfa Romeo Brands Too

Stellantis Malaysia issued a statement earlier today revealing it began operations last last week - March 1 onwards.

Stellantis Malaysia National Sales Company (Stellantis Malaysia) issued a press statement earlier today revealing that the newly established local arm of global automaking giant already began operations late last week from March 1.

From said point on, the firm has assumed management of the Peugeot brand from previous distributors Bermaz Auto Alliance. Through today’s statement too, Stellantis Malaysia also reaffirmed its immediate plans for the French silver lion marque.

The Peugeot 408 C-segment 'fastback' crossover we spotted undergoing road tests locally not too long ago. Stellantis Malaysia had previously confirmed the model for launch in Malaysia by Q2 this year.

Stellantis Malaysia also confirmed plans to localise (CKD) the Landtrek 4x4 pick-up truck in Malaysia through its Gurun plant. Its launch is set to follow up from the 408 mentioned earlier.

Firstly, the planned introduction of the new Peugeot 408 C-segment crossover is set to take place by the second quarter (Q2) this year. This will be followed up the locally assembled (CKD) version of the Peugeot Landtrek 4x4 pick-up truck too.

Beyond which, Stellantis didn’t mention any further Peugeot models planned, but an image it provided with said statement taken during a recent investor day event held at its plant in Gurun, Kedah, revealed interesting prospects for Malaysians to look forward to.

The photo issued by Stellantis Malaysia along with today's announcement. Note the presence of the Peugeot e-3008 (second from left), Jeep Wrangler (centre), and the Alfa Romeo Tonale (first from right).

The appearance of the STLA Medium-based e-3008 (right) and absent mention of the e-2008 (left) perhaps indicate a possible shift in Stellantis Malaysia's EV plans under the Peugeot brand.

Whilst on the Peugeot marque still, there was no mention of the e-2008 previewed by Bermaz Auto Alliance last year. Instead, the new third-generation Peugeot e-3008 can be seen in said picture – the new all-electric (EV) crossover SUV was just revealed globally last Sept.

Said model’s appearance at the firm’s recent investor day at its Gurun plant makes sense given past statements by Stellantis Malaysia regarding its intent to ramp up the plant’s output with more models based on its latest STLA Medium platform – the same base used by the e-3008.

Mentioned but not sighted was the Citroën C3 Aircross. The previous-gen model (left) debuted locally in 2019 by past distributors Naza Euro Motors. An all-new generation version (right) debuted globally last year.

Apart from Peugeot, today’s statement also saw Stellantis Malaysia hinting at the possible return of other brands into the local market. Mentioned specifically in the statement were the likes of the Citroën C3 Aircross, Jeep Wrangler and, curiously, Alfa Romeo Tonale.

The Citroën compact crossover noted was not sighted in the photo taken at the Gurun plant, but said nameplate was one of the brand's last new models launched locally by past distributors Naza Euro Motors in 2019. The model has since received an all-new replacement early last year.

Both the Jeep Wrangler (left) and Alfa Romeo Tonale (right) were both mentioned and pictured, perhaps hinting at Stellantis Malaysia's possible intent at rebooting both brands in Malaysia.

As for both the Jeep and Alfa Romeo models mentioned, both were present in the photograph taken at the Gurun plant alongside the trio of Peugeot models mentioned too. This is perhaps good news for local fans of both brands who’ve been yearning for their Malaysian market return.

Stellantis Malaysia had mentioned in the past of its intent at introducing more brands from its portfolio locally, and this is the strongest hint of said intent yet. This is indeed not too far off from our initial speculation where we also reckoned other names like DS Automobiles and Opel returning.

These are exciting developments indeed, and we will keep a close eye on how Stellantis Malaysia develops over the coming months. We’ll have more details once they’re made available.