Peugeot 3008 and 5008 facelifts to make Malaysian debut soon – 2008 due November, EV/hybrids planned

Kia isn’t the only brand that Bermaz Auto (BAuto) has big plans for. The company says it is also set to revive the Peugeot marque it took over from Naza late last year, as indicated in a Maybank IB Research investor report published earlier this week.

According to BAuto management, the company seeking to revitalise interest in Peugeot with the intention of turning it around by 2022. New models expected to come our way include the facelifted Peugeot 3008 and 5008 SUV models, which are due to debut soon.

These will go on sale in locally-assembled CKD guise, and of interest is the mention of electrification angle for both models, although this looks to be well down the road and in fully-imported forms. The research note mentions plans to deploy a CBU battery-electric version of the 3008, but the all-electric variant of the SUV isn’t expected until 2023.

Likewise, the mention of plans to introduce the 5008 in hybrid form, but that’s only set to come about with the next-gen in 2023. The automaker does have plug-in hybrid variants of the 3008, including a new Hybrid 225 model that offers 56 km of pure electric range, so it remains to be seen if the PHEV 3008 will make it here as a bridging model.

Another model confirmed for the local market is the second-gen 2008. The SUV, which was spied on local roads last year on a couple of occasions, is scheduled to make its debut sometime in November or December, according to the company.

For Peugeot, BAuto said it is aiming to achieve sales of around 1,500 to 1,800 units for the brand in fiscal year 2022. This is lower than the 4,000 units annually it originally targeted in December, the revision likely due to anticipated economic impact brought about by the long-standing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Peugeot distributorship was originally secured by BAuto together with Berjaya Corporation under the Berjaya Auto Alliance (BAASB) joint venture in December last year. In June, Berjaya announced that it was selling off its 51% stake in the venture to BAuto and other shareholders, stating that it would be more synergistic for BAuto to acquire BAASB and run the Peugeot brand as the primary entity.

GALLERY: Peugeot 3008 facelift