Stellantis takes over Gurun plant, ramps up production

By CARSIFU | 3 November 2021


PETALING JAYA: Stellantis cemented its commitment to Malaysia, securing full ownership of Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd and its plant in Gurun, Kedah.

The completed acquisition marks a key milestone for Stellantis in South-East Asia, with plans to invest and dramatically 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,” said Stellantis senior vice president (Asean & General Distributors) Christophe Musy on Monday.

“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 currently rolling out across the region, two vehicles gleaning international success in Europe.

Stellantis plant_Gurun_2021 (1)


Furthermore, the much-anticipated Peugeot 2008 will also start production this month in Gurun, bringing to the Asean region a lucrative new compact SUV offering from the high-end brand. It is expected to launch locally in early 2022.

“We are focused on our mission to achieve world-class manufacturing in Gurun, to build high-quality, Malaysian-produced vehicles for South East 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,” said Musy.

The Stellantis plant in Gurun 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.

“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.”

Stellantis secured full ownership of the plant located in Gurun on Oct 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.

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