Stellantis Malaysia should bank on the Peugeot e-3008 to make its big comeback.
As most Malaysians know, Stellantis Malaysia has been set up and is quite serious about bringing the Peugeot brand back to prominence. The first model they launched was the 408 and now it looks like they may be readying up for a 2025 e-3008.
The model was previewed at their KLIMS 2024 booth to gauge the public’s interest in the car and while no confirmation of a launch was given, could this be the brand’s best chance at coming back to prominence? Maybe.
Electric vehicles are allowed to compete on a nearly level playing field in Malaysia. There are no import taxes or excise duties levied on these vehicles, to give them an advantage over ICE and hybrid vehicles for a limited amount of time.
The e-3008 would be the first Peugeot vehicle to stand to benefit from competing on a level playing field with all of its long established rivals. While the Chinese players may have a significant price advantage, we also have to remember that Chinese car brands are not well-established in Malaysia.
Peugeot on the other hand has had a long presence in the market and has been selling cars for more than a century. While many new Chinese brands are playing a cut-throat game of price slashing to keep the attention on their vehicles, the customer ends up placing their bets on which of these brands will stay around long enough to service their extensive warranties.
So, there will still be a healthy number of customers who want to try a non-premium EV from an established marque, even if it’s a little more expensive than their Chinese counterparts. As long as it’s priced right, the Peugeot e-3008 SUV could fill the void left by larger sedans like the Honda Accord or Nissan Teana. And while it’s not exactly a mass market brand, Peugeot is closer to ‘conservative and established’ than most of its Chinese rivals and right now NONE of the ‘conservative and established’ brands have an EV for sale, only the premium ones.
In terms of specifications, it’s not bad. 213PS and 343Nm of torque is plenty on the base model. With a 98kWh battery pack, the e-3008 can deliver a very impressive 700km of range on the WLTP cycle. 22kW AC charging is an option and up to 160kW DC fast charging is available.
