Citroën, DS Automobiles And Opel Brands Set For Return In Malaysia?

With a vast and varied portfolio or brands, Stellantis looks set to introduce some of which through its upcoming Malaysia NSC in 2024.

By now we’re sure you’re up to speed with recent reports of multi-national automaking giant Stellantis and its plan to set up a Malaysia National Sales Company (NSC) in 2024. Its first task will be to direct and manage both distribution and sale of the Peugeot brand.

Historically, the French silver lion marque has had a strong foothold locally, garnering a sizeable fan base and loyal owners over the years. Perhaps it was natural for Stellantis to spearhead things with the marque due to its familiarity with many here, but there’s indeed more in the pipelines.

In his initial statement, Daniel Gonzalez, COO for ASEAN and general distributors at Stellantis, hinted at the firm’s plans to introduce new brands to Malaysia under the Stellantis portfolio. Whilst vast and varied, we’ll likely see the return of several familiar names.

Amongst the brands Stellantis could revive in Malaysia are Citroën, DS Automobiles, and Opel.

Citroën is one and, much like sister brand Peugeot, it’s a badge many Malaysians are already familiar with. Both these French brands, which formed the former PSA Group venture that merged into Stellantis, were present locally under past distributors Nasim Sdn Bhd.

In its later stage, Nasim Sdn Bhd also introduced the DS Automobiles brand locally at a time when Citroën first began spinning it off from sub-brand to a separate, stand-alone one. Unlike Peugeot and Citroën, DS Automobiles was positioned instead as a more premium marque, and this was evident with its upmarket models.

The third name possibly set for a reboot in the local market under Stellantis is historic German brand Opel. Formerly owned by GM between 1929 to 2017, it was acquired by PSA Group in 2017 before getting absorbed into the bigger Stellantis entity in 2021.

Under both PSA Group and Stellantis after the merger, the Opel brand has undergone quite the renaissance, arguably regaining much-needed mass market popularity in the process too – most notably in Europe.

The revival of these three brands mentioned could see Stellantis's plant in Gurun, Kedah ramping up its production in the coming year.

Given this recent shift by Stellantis is centred on its new STLA Medium platform and its manufacturing plant in Gurun, Kedah, we can likely expect a similar push as Peugeot’s in terms of product types and variations from these brands too.

Presently, the platform hosts models like the Citroën C5 X crossover SUV that’s described as a ‘lifted estate’, as well as its more ‘grounded’ DS 4 and Opel Astra L hatchback twins. It’s worth noting too that all three have both combustion (ICE) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains available.

Clockwise: Could we see things like the Citroën C5 X, as well as the DS 4 and Opel Astra L enter the local market soon?

As for full- or battery electric (BEV) models, the platform’s offshoots for which beyond the Peugeot e-308 and e-3008 includes the Opel-badged Astra e-L and upcoming second-gen Grandland twins. Given its relative newness, model count growth is expected to take time.

Beyond the STLA Medium platform, there’s a high likelihood that other models underpinning the STLA Medium platform’s EMP2 precursor from these brands could be introduced too. Amongst them are the DS 3 Crossback, DS 4, DS 9, Citroën C3, Citroën C4, as well as the Opel Mokka.

Other models we could probably expect to see from the Stellantis include the Opel Mokka, DS 3 Cross back, DS 4, DS9, as well as the Citroën C3 and Citroën C4.

Unsurprisingly, Stellantis isn’t revealing much beyond its immediate plans for the Peugeot brand under its upcoming new Malaysia NSC structure. Nevertheless, the firm’s intent on maximising its Gurun plant mentioned will certainly spawn more choices for consumers in the immediate future.

Besides Peugeot, Stellantis’s other brand active in the local market presently comes in the form of Italian luxury sportscar marque Maserati. The famed trident crest is under the auspices of Naza Italia Sdn Bhd, with the MC20 Cielo being its very latest launch here after the Grecale.

What other Stellantis-owned brands would you like to see revived in Malaysia beyond the three marques we noted? Jeep? Alfa Romeo? Fiat and Abarth? Or perhaps you’d prefer Opel’s right-hand-drive (RHD) Vauxhall alter-ego instead? Hit the comments below with your take…