We’ve known for a while now that Citroen is set to make a return to Malaysia soon, taking the place of the “mass market” brand under Stellantis Malaysia’s renewed line-up for the country, but the exact model to be launched here still remains a mystery; although the French brand did make an appearance at the 2024 Malaysia Autoshow with the C3 Aircross. Well, mystery no more, because we now know at least one of the cars the company has planned for Malaysia: the Citroen Basalt.
The news comes from Stellantis Malaysia managing director Jamie Francis Morais with a post on LinkedIn, stating – in the most unambiguous manner an automotive executive could possibly do – that the model is “coming soon”.
The Basalt is essentially a coupe version of the C3 Aircross, with a sloping roofline and a uniquely styled rear end, plus model-exclusive bumpers in front too to differentiate it from its more upright siblings.
No technical details have been announced yet, as the Citroen Basalt is only set to be officially unveiled in India next month. But given that it shares its underpinnings with the C3, we’ll assume that it’ll also be offered with the same 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated and turbocharged PureTech three-cylinder engines, making 82 hp/115 Nm and 110 hp/190 Nm respectively.
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With Stellantis Malaysia’s heavy investment into its Gurun plant, we expect the Citroen Basalt to also be locally assembled here in Malaysia, and similarly exported to other right-hand-drive markets, making full use of the plant’s 60,000 unit annual capacity.
With the Basalt now confirmed for Malaysia, we’re guessing it’s only a matter of time before the C3 and C3 Aircross are also introduced here – they do share the same underpinnings, after-all. Either way, it’ll definitely be a busy few years for Stellantis Malaysia with the return of Citroen, plus the upcoming introduction of at least two more brands.
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Citroen Basalt
Citroen Basalt Vision (Concept)
