In a press release, Stellantis announced that it will establish a new national sales company (NSC) in Malaysia within the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2024).

The new NSC will be the official Stellantis entity directing and managing the sale and distribution of Peugeot vehicles in Malaysia. The change in business strategy is part of Stellantis’ growth ambitions in the ASEAN region in line with its electrification plans and the company’s global Dare Forward 2030 strategy.

In conjunction with this strategy change, Bermaz Auto Alliance (BAA), which is the current distributor for Peugeot in Malaysia will continue to work with Stellantis for vehicle sales through its own network. BAA took over the distribution of Peugeot vehicles in Malaysia from Naza in December 2020.

"We are excited to announce this new business strategy to serve the Malaysian market with more products and services under the new NSC structure. This includes the future introduction of new brands to Malaysia under the Stellantis portfolio,” said Daniel Gonzalez, Chief Operating Officer for ASEAN & General Distributors at Stellantis.

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Besides Peugeot, Stellantis also has Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Opel under its umbrella. Some of these brands are familiar to older generations and were sold in Malaysia once upon a time.

The Malaysia NSC will be led by Jamie Francis Morais, who is the current Head of Aftersales for the ASEAN & General Distributors operations for Stellantis. Morais is a seasoned professional with 19 years of experience in the automotive industry within esteemed global brands including Toyota, BMW, Nissan and Proton.

His extensive leadership background spans across different operations including aftersales, network, customer service, quality, sales and training.

BAA will continue working with Stellantis during this transition period, with both companies remaining steadfast in their commitment to serving Peugeot customers with uninterrupted vehicle service, parts, warranty and aftersales service in Malaysia.

Stellantis’ new direction and strategy for the ASEAN region includes its electrification ambitions, evaluating the potential of the Gurun plant in Kedah as a regional manufacturing hub to manufacture battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for both domestic and export markets in ASEAN, and driving consumer adoption of BEVs in the region.

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Regional priorities revolve around a commitment to sustainability under Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 strategy. The automaker is investing over RM 2 billion to introduce the STLA Medium platform to the ASEAN region.

This modular-by-design platform enables Stellantis to be able to produce multi-energy vehicles (BEV, ICE, MHEV) and local manufacture of cars from Stellantis’ house of brands such as Jeep and Citroën.