Stellantis Malaysia Confirms Citroën, Jeep, And Leapmotor Brands For Malaysia

Peugeot will soon be joined by sister brand Citroën, as well as stablemates Jeep and Leapmotor, here in Malaysia.

Peugeot will soon see sister brands Citroën, Jeep, And Leapmotor joining it here in Malaysia under the newly formed Stellantis Malaysia entity. The Malaysian arm of the global automaking giant, which only just established itself last month, confirmed this last night at a press Berbuka Puasa event it organised. 

During which, said plans were revealed by both Stellantis’ COO For ASEAN & General Distributors Daniel Gonzales, as well Jamie Francis Morais, newly installed Managing Director of the Stellantis Malaysia National Sales Company (NSC).

From which, both execs detailed that the firm intends to reposition the Peugeot brand into the 'upper mainstream'. In turn, this will allow for the re-introduction of sister French brand Citroën as a 'mass market' marque instead just below Peugeot.

Presentation slides shown to press last night by Jamie Francis Morais, MD of the Stellantis Malaysia National Sales Company (NSC).

Whilst on reintroductions and repositioning still, Stellantis Malaysia also confirmed its intent on reviving the Jeep brand too. Unlike Citroën, this iconic American brand will be position above Peugeot as a 'recreational lifestyle' marque.

The biggest surprise however came when the Leapmotor brand was mentioned – an upstart Chinese EV marque formed in 2015. Stellantis acquired a 20% stake in the Hangzhou-rooted brand just last year, and its Malaysian arm seeks to introduce it locally as an ‘affordable EV’ marque.

Insights given by both Gonzales and Morais, as well as other Stellantis Malaysia execs present last night, indicate the firm’s intend to compete against other Chinese EV makes that have boomed locally.

Jeep will return to Malaysia as a 'recreational lifestyle' offering, according to Stellantis Malaysia. Lets hope it doesn't command stiff premiums .

Citroën is being revived as a 'mass market' brand under Stellantis Malaysia, where it will be positioned below Peugeot.

Both Gonzales and Morais did not divulge further details apart from what we just conveyed, but Venezuelan native and regional head Gonzales did allude at least two more unnamed brands are being considered.

In fact, Gonzales also hinted that these two marques will be presented at the upcoming Malaysia Auto Show 2024. In all likelihood, how show-goers – and the Malaysian public in general – will react to these, and other Stellantis offerings then, will determine their possible entry into Malaysia.

Unfortunately, Stellantis Malaysia elected not to divulge further details about the possible models set to be introduced under these three newly confirmed brands. Your guess is as good as ours here, but we won’t have long to wait.

The biggest surprise is the revelation of Stellantis Malaysia's aim at introducing China's Leapmotor EV marque. Stellantis had only just acquired a 20% in the Hangzhou-rooted brand just last year (2023)(Images: CarNewsChina)

The firm is set to have a sizeable presence at the upcoming Malaysia Auto Show 2024 mentioned, which is where we’ll get our first glimpse of what Stellantis aims to pitch to Malaysian consumers under these three banners next to what it already confirmed for Peugeot prior.

Returning and new brands aside, Gonzales again reaffirmed Stellantis Malaysia’s other big  missions of rebuilding and enhancing after-sales and customer experiences for all its brands, as well as ramping up output at the firm’s Gurun plant for both local and export markets.