Peugeot Malaysia on track for record year

KUALA LUMPUR: Five months ago, a senior Naza Group executive announced that 2011 will be a landmark year for the Peugeot brand in Malaysia.

After solid sales volume in the first four months, the "Lion" brand from France is well on track to an incredible 2011.

"I believe many of you were in this very location five months ago when we launched the 308CC.

"At that launch, we promised you that 2011 will be a landmark year for the Peugeot brand in Malaysia and I can confidently report to you that we are well on track to a record year," subsidiary Nasim Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Datuk Samson Anand George said at the launch of Peugeot RCZ yesterday.

From January to April this year, Nasim sold a total of 2,088 Peugeots to Malaysian consumers. This represents 74 per cent of its total sales in 2010.

It also reaffirms Peugeot as the number one European brand in Malaysia during the period.

Samson said competition had risen sharply among the European makes in the market.

The total volume of European cars sold from January to April was nearly 70 per cent higher than it was in the corresponding period in 2010.

Passenger vehicles of European brands now represent 3.7 per cent of the total industry volume compared with 2.3 per cent a year ago, he added.

Meanwhile, the RCZ marks a new chapter in Peugeot's line-up of lifestyle pleasure cars, Samson said.

The stunning 2+2 coupe will be available in both manual and automatic transmissions.

The manual variant sells as about RM223,000 and delivers an astounding 200bhp (brake horse power). The automatic version costs RM218,888.

The RCZ has won numerous accolades globally including being named Coupe of the Year by an internationally-renown automotive publication.

It is assembled at Magna Steyr's plant in Graz, Austria.