Stellantis secures full ownership of Naza’s Gurun plant
01 Nov 2021
Stellantis, the world’s fourth largest automotive group, has solidified its commitment to Malaysia, securing full ownership of Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd and its plant in Gurun, Kedah.
The completed acquisition marks a significant milestone for Stellantis, owner of brands such as Peugeot and Fiat, in Southeast Asia with plans to invest and expand its footprint as part of a robust localisation strategy.
“Stellantis is deeply committed to growing our presence in Asean, and taking full ownership and responsibility of the plant in Gurun, Kedah is a very important step towards strengthening our operations, production outputs and workforce in the region,” Stellantis senior vice president of Asean and general distributors Christophe Musy said.
“We have an ambitious growth strategy that will enable us to build on the existing production outputs in Gurun, as well as extend the breadth of brands and models within the Stellantis portfolio built in Asean for Asean. This is a very exciting proposition.”
Stellantis recently restarted manufacturing in Gurun, with the launch of the refreshed Peugeot 3008 and 5008, which have gleaned international success in Europe.
Furthermore, the much-anticipated Peugeot 2008 will commence production this month in Gurun, bringing to the Asean region a lucrative new a compact SUV offering from the high-end brand.
“We are focused on our mission to achieve world-class manufacturing in Gurun, to build high-quality, Malaysian-produced vehicles for Southeast Asia.
“This includes the internationally-acclaimed refreshed 3008 and 5008 updates and the new Peugeot 2008, three vehicles that will elevate the superior offering of the Peugeot brand in this region,” Musy added.
The Gurun plant has achieved pre-pandemic production rates since it restarted operations, with volumes now ramping up for the remainder of 2021, to re-establish car flow to Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and other Asean markets.
“In spite of the pandemic we are extremely proud to see increased customer demand for Peugeot in the region. “We are working closely with our partners to increase plant capacity by almost 40 per cent to meet demand, and this combined with our strong product plan and determination to achieve the highest standards in quality and safety has
set us up for great success in Malaysia,” Musy said.
Stellantis obtained full ownership of the manufacturing plant located in Gurun on October 28, previously operating as a joint venture with Naza Corporation.
Over 170 employees have returned to work and Stellantis is working with over 50 local suppliers as production increases for the last quarter of 2021.
Source: NST
