Will Stellantis Malaysia bring in the Citroën C3 in ICE or EV form by 2024?
Last week, we covered the Citroën C3 Aircross EV going into production in India and Slovakia. Today, a source in the industry has confirmed that Stellantis Malaysia will be introducing the Citroën brand before the end of 2024. What more, our source has also indicated that it will be a fully-imported C3 model from India that will spearhead the brand’s reintroduction to Malaysia. The cherry on top is that pricing is estimated to start at RM90,000 for this fully-imported model, so is it an EV or an ICE model?
Why A Cheap Model For Such A Prestigious Brand?
The first question Citroën fans in Malaysia will have is why Stellantis Malaysia aren’t targeting the premium market with this brand? After all, Citroën has been around since the early 20th century and has made its mark on the automotive industry over 100 years with innovations in suspension technology that have yet to be surpassed even today.
Well that’s because the Citroën brand has been slowly re-positioned over the years to serve as a mass market marque. For more innovative and avantgarde vehicles, the DS sub-brand was created. Everything in the middle is covered by Peugeot and thus there is less cannibalization between brands and Stellantis can focus marketing efforts to each demographic. That is the strategy they have taken and it has worked in some markets.
In Malaysia there is precedent for an affordable Citroën. The last C3 Aircross was sold here for RM115,888. Given Stellantis Malaysia’s considerable investment into our country and their lower-than-expected pricing for the Peugeot 408, it won’t surprise us if they’re able to launch a new C3 for under RM100,000.
Why Not CKD?
You’ll remember that Stellantis bought over the Naza plant in Gurun, Kedah and has been exporting cars from Malaysia for some time. So, why aren’t they thinking of locally-assembling the C3 upon launch? Well, it could be that they need some time to test the waters and retool the plant for the C3. But it’s also possible that they’re only fully-importing the electric model from India to take advantage of Malaysia’s EV policy which imposes 0% import taxes and 0% excise duties on EVs that are imported.
Which C3 Model?
That is the million Ringgit question.
In India, there’s the C3 with a number of variants ranging from ₹616000 to ₹ 911800 or around RM35,000 to RM52,000. However, this is different “modern hatchback” variant that was launched ahead of the European “SUV” model. The all-new C3 Aircross SUV is also available there and we feel that this is more likely the one coming to Malaysia. This model is available from ₹999000 to ₹1433300 in a variety of configurations, which converts to RM56,500 to RM81,000. Unfortunately these are all ICE models, which will be hit with massive taxes upon arrival, but RM90,000 doesn’t seem like an impossible number if a deal has been reached with the government to locally-assemble and export to the region in the future.
Will It Be Electric?
Logically its the electric model, the Ë-C3 that SHOULD be possible to bring in at RM90,000. In India, the Citroën Ë-C3 is sold between ₹1276300 and ₹1356300 or RM72,000 and RM76,500. That gives Stellantis Malaysia plenty of wiggle room with pricing even after shipping is factored into the equation.
However, what makes it an unlikely candidate is the RM90,000 price point indicated to us. So far, no Chinese brands have been allowed to launch a sub-RM100,000 electric vehicle that is fully imported. This is because the government aims to reserve this price point for Perodua. Perhaps this is a deal arranged to get things moving faster for Stellantis and the government as well. After all, the 2030 goal of 15% of the TIV being EVs. It’ll also give more M40 households an electric option should the government decide to free-float petrol prices.
It’s interesting to think that Stellantis Malaysia could help the government achieve its EV ambitions and also be allowed to introduce a sub-RM100,000 Citroën Ë-C3 by the end of 2024. However it’s more likely that an ICE-powered C3 is what’s being brought in.
