Stellantis has announced that it will be taking over the distributorship for the Peugeot brand from Bermaz, with the establishment of a new National Sales Company (NSC) in Malaysia in the first quarter of 2024.
The new NSC will be the official Stellantis entity directing and managing the sale and distribution of Stellantis Group vehicles in Malaysia. Peugeot is currently the only Stellantis marque being offered in Malaysia, but the company says that there will be more to come in the future.
The change in business strategy is part of its growth ambitions in the ASEAN region, in line with its global strategies and electrification plans, Stellantis said in a press release.
Ahead of the establishment of the new NSC, Bermaz Auto Alliance (BAA), the current Peugeot distributor in Malaysia owned 55% by Bermaz Auto, will “in the meantime continue to work with Stellantis for vehicle sales through its own network”. BAA will continue working with Stellantis during the transition period, with both companies commited to provide uninterrupted vehicle service, parts, warranty, and aftersales service for its customers in Malaysia.
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“Bermaz Auto is a valued partner and has built a solid foundation for the Peugeot brand in Malaysia since December 2020, which will greatly help our transition to the NSC structure. I would like to thank Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Ben Yeoh, the Executive Chairman of Bermaz Auto, and his team for everything that Bermaz Auto has done to develop the Peugeot brand to where it is today,” said Stellantis ASEAN & General Distributors Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Gonzalez.
Commenting on the new business strategy, Bermaz Auto Executive Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Ben Yeoh said, “rom the onset of our partnership, we adopted the role of being the custodian of the Peugeot brand in Malaysia, as we are passionate in building brands. Hence, we gladly accepted the challenge in 2020 and together with the Stellantis team, we worked diligently to further develop the brand in Malaysia.
“Today, we are proud to be able to steer it in the direction where Stellantis is ready to take it further. We are fully supportive of Stellantis’ global ambition,” he added.
The new Malaysia NSC will be headed by Jamie Francis Morais, who is the current Head of Aftersales for the ASEAN & General Distributors operations for Stellantis. Morais brings with him 19 years of experience in the automotive industry, having previously held leadership roles across various operations including sales, aftersales, network, customer service, quality, and training.
Moving forward, Stellantis’s new strategy for the ASEAN region will include its electrification ambitions, among which, the company plans to evaluate the potential of the Gurun Plant in Kedah as a regional manufacturing hub to produce battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for both domestic and export markets in the region.
The company is also investing over RM2 billion to introduce the STLA Medium platform to the ASEAN region. The modular platform will allow Stellantis to produce multi-energy vehicles (BEV, ICE, MHEV), and also locally manufacture cars from other brands within Stellantis’ portfolio, including Jeep and Citroen.
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