Naza Group to take over Citroën franchise in Malaysia?

Naza Group to take over Citroën franchise in Malaysia?

The Naza Group is set to add Citroën to its portfolio of car brands, with the franchise due to come into the group’s hands before the year is out, according to a Berita Harian report.

PSA Peugeot-Citroën is said to have informed current Citroën distributor Brooklands Motors – which launched the second-generation C4 back in December last year – in May that it was ending its franchise agreement with the Malaysian company.

The report added that a source said that the PSA Peugeot-Citroën Group wanted to find a new company to develop the brand in Malaysia because it felt that the brand was not getting proper support, especially in terms of investment in brand development and after-sales services. The bid to improve sales is also another reason for the change.

The Naza Group, when contacted, said it was unaware of such developments and declined to comment on the matter.

Such a move would mean that both the Peugeot and Citroën marques would be consolidated under the same umbrella. The Naza Group already has the Peugeot brand, as well as that of Kia and Chevrolet, among others, so adding Citroën into the mix would be a logical choice, synergistically.

The consolidation of the two French marques under the same roof is looking to be a global affair. In an effort to improve efficiency, PSA has already restructured operations in the UK, Germany and other markets, and Australia is also set to follow suit.

The current Citroën importer there, Ateco Automotive, has already indicated that its distribution arrangement with the French automaker will cease at the end of this year, with current Peugeot importer Sime Darby Motors Australia set to take up the Citroën franchise. A formal announcement of the switch in Australia has not been made, but is expected in due time from PSA.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Looking fwd to new citroen models that are competitively priced, naza always has a way, as consumers we are not complaining!

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    • Albert Wong on Aug 09, 2012 at 2:32 pm

      The brand will now die faster cause Naza group is more lembap. Go to the showroom in Federal highway, you see all the sales staff all sleeping or playing with their iphone. Can stand there for half hour also, nobody attend to you. I gave up wanting to buy my Naza Sorento. Their business in mainly crony AP business. Each AP can generate at least RM200,000 clean profit. And they get thousands of free AP a year. So, its few hundred million ringgit free money.

      So why they want to waste time selling new cars? Better for Citroen to just set up a team here to market their cars. Their cars are very good quality, pity, Brooklands also lembap.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • Albert, I disagreed.

        With more cash in hand, Nasim is not going to sit there wasting life. He is quite aggressively expanding his business. I do believe that Citroen will be in better hand under NAZA or Sime Darby, definitely not with the current distributor.

        I believe PSA is quite happy with NAZA effort in Malaysia, with huge sales, assembly plant, 3R center…etc. Citroen if can follow Peugeot Nasim design in Malaysia, then it will be another successful brand.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • mad aly on Aug 09, 2012 at 3:54 pm

        waaah.. so clever.. u think NAZA stupid like u… if they invest money, they want their investment pays back… u theory is bullshit just like u.. haha

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
        • Zero Emissions on Aug 10, 2012 at 12:23 pm

          expanding business and having a good sales team is 2 different things.yes no doubt NAZA has the funds and connection with G to rapidly expand dealerships but like ALBERT said their sales team and after sales is horrible.they do not focus on these areas to generate sales,rather somehow by pricing their cars at a lower price and with higher features NAZA is constantly able to sustain sales
          But this technique will not last for long as resale value will be heavily affected

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      • Just B Real on Aug 12, 2012 at 5:32 pm

        Actually, if u compare Brooklands next to Naza, then u will see why they made these decisions.

        No doubt, Naza is shit in after sales, but they have other areas which they excel, like being well connected to be able to price their cars lower than usual.

        Unfortunately, these results are more relevant to the investors, not so much for consumers.

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    • jaafar on Aug 28, 2012 at 12:44 pm

      I think the change is for the better, Brooklands has not been too serious in developing the Citroen brand and their service is so-so. Perhaps with Naza we can see more exciting Citroen models on the road!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • jay8393 on Aug 09, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    Hopefully Citroen will grow as well as Peugeot with Naza, if this change of franchise do happen.

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  • xander on Aug 09, 2012 at 1:36 pm

    not a bad choices though if under Naza.

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  • Ash Menon on Aug 09, 2012 at 1:38 pm

    It’s a good move. Naza’s doing decent with Peugeot, so I think they’ll do good with Citroen too.

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  • Yup, agreed that Naza will give citroen a better platform in Msia…not to mentioned better synergy btw them & Pug, their product share basically the same parts too

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  • Hope Naza will take a good care of Citroen.

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  • tunguuu on Aug 09, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    i was always wondering y citroen lagged behind in our market..shows to say brooklands motor is just there to sell their AP probably…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Bell&Ross on Aug 09, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    naza huh? while they currently give the best deals in the market. they were the ones that screwed the whole automotive market in the first place

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • skypirate on Aug 09, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    this is a surprise, i didn’t know sime darby is the current distributor of peugeot in australia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • skypirate on Aug 09, 2012 at 2:40 pm

    and also find someone to take up fiat franchise! i want a 500 abarth with official warranty!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Naza? Why not giving it to other Malaysians?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • John Player Special on Aug 09, 2012 at 11:12 pm

      you have anybody better than Naza in mind?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • gangga negara on Aug 10, 2012 at 10:12 am

        maybe UMW can try it.. outdated engine, wayyyyyyyyyyyyy overprice tag.. hmmm Naza still the best at the moment.

        if Karpal & sons & LKS & sons wanna try to bid for a distributing licence pun takda masalah. just present your paperwork to Citroen hq in Paris & wait for em to answer. do you think u can win it over NAZA, so be it.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
        • LKS and Sons on Aug 10, 2012 at 3:09 pm

          u r really mannga negara…why relating politic in to the topic!!!

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • jaafar on Aug 28, 2012 at 12:50 pm

      Amoi

      Do you think running a car franchise is easy? Do you have any suitable candidate that can take up the offer fast?
      Please refrain from making silly comments next time.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • hope i can have enough money to buy a citroen

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  • jalan54 on Aug 09, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    The car is over priced, the maintenance cost is damn high and the service sucks. If Naza really want to revive this brand in Malaysia after taking over, they have lots of works to do.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • odi862 on Aug 09, 2012 at 4:08 pm

      If you want cheaper maintenance cost, buy the local brands.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Good for Citroen on Aug 09, 2012 at 4:22 pm

      I don’t think Citroens are overpriced in Malaysia. Think about it, for under 130k, the citroen C4, citroen’s equivalent of the peugeot 308 is very well specced with electric massage seats and denon sound system. The DS4, for under 160k can get a 200hp manual that has a more premium interior than a golf. It’s just that under Brooklands, the brand is not improving, it should do better under NAZA. Though service is not the best, more people will buy Citroens due to the better distribution of showrooms and service centres.

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  • Jaybond on Aug 09, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    The current Citroen product line-up are actually have a better premium/high quality feel with distinctive styling, compared to the current Peugeot offerings (i.e some of the current models just re-used the dashboard design of the previous generation).

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  • tan sari on Aug 09, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    Yes, I think Naza will do better than Brooklands, which do not promote the car much. Anyway, Opel is coming out with better cars now, wonder why no one is bringing it in.

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  • Modesto Hann on Aug 09, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    Besides making sure it is priced competitively, NaZa has to go extra miles to make sure spare parts are brought in with competitive price and with high availability, otherwise, same fate will repeat, no one dares to touch second hand units because of skyrocketing maintenance cost.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • totti on Aug 09, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    Naza is good for nothing and depend on handout AP to survive. Those billions that they whack is belong to the G and these money should help the poor people with the majority malay.

    I got no respect to cronies that survive on AP handout.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • isuzuki on Aug 09, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    Q:Naza Group to take over Citroën franchise in Malaysia?
    (CEO)Ans1: Is that good or bad?
    (CEO)Ans2: How you know? (Does not matter whether you say good or say bad.

    LOL

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • support bcoz NAZA will CKD Citreon. i want Citreon C5 WITH ckd tag price

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Dr Mamak on Aug 09, 2012 at 7:00 pm

    I sure won’t buy from AP King.

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  • Extrimist on Aug 10, 2012 at 12:02 am

    “According to Australian publication GoAuto, the PSA Peugeot Citroen will restructure its overseas distribution network by consolidating importers/distributors of Peugeot and Citroen into a single company. “

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  • anti-first on Aug 10, 2012 at 12:34 am

    ‘The Naza Group, when contacted, said it was unaware of such developments and declined to comment on the matter.’

    of course not, can’t let the cat out of the bag yet, i guess. :)

    if naza holds both brands, this would definitely up the ante for the presence of french/conti cars here!

    PSA, viennent inonder et la Malaisie avec des voitures françaises!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • kerelbort on Aug 10, 2012 at 8:52 am

    there was a talk of Naza bringing in 1 europe and 2 china brand into malaysia earlier… i was hoping for Opel

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  • Economic-wise, it’s a smart move to consolidate two brands into one roof as their cars were too common as their similar engine, platform and certainly parts. Naza PSA, anyone? Citroen Red Box?

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  • optimus on Aug 10, 2012 at 9:19 am

    peugeot & citroen under same group, make sense to let naza do it
    but hopefully we dont see some rebadged citroen with naza badge ^^

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Interest to see how this will affect peugeot. However citreon needs to dump that stupid gearbox away and use a conventional automatic transmission.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • jaafar on Aug 28, 2012 at 12:57 pm

      lcms

      Actually the EGS gearbox is not stupid , it require the nut behind the wheel(you) to have certain skills. Its a manual gearbox so if you drive using the manual shifters then its fine. If you want to drive using auto then buy full auto version.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Hanya mampu beli french fries :-p

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  • Just me on Aug 10, 2012 at 10:23 am

    Bring in the DS series!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • RedBeanBun on Aug 10, 2012 at 11:08 am

    One upon a time, Citroen was happening in Msia 1990s, wonder which company is selling then?

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  • donno on Aug 10, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Ehemm…

    Locally assembled C4L please…

    http://paultan.org/2012/06/21/citroen-c4-l-range-topping-act-for-china-and-russia/

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • retard on Aug 11, 2012 at 12:31 am

    naza co. … hope you can offer lower the price of cars youre selling. euro cars should be much cheaper than the japs make because many many peoples say euro cars no 2nd hand value, xpensive spare parts, etcs compared to japs.

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  • ds4 n ds5, daymmm god loocking vehicle! hoping to see ds5 here

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  • shawal on Aug 11, 2012 at 1:26 pm

    brooklands is selling the DS4 at RM126k , comes with blind spot monitoring and other stuffs
    thats 10k cheaper than the civic 2.0navi..

    I wonder how cheap can the ds4 actually be under naza..
    cuz the pug 508 is stil pricey!

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  • imagine DS4’s front grill of this ==^== becomes this ==nAzA==

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  • Jaybond on Aug 11, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    I think Naza should also investigate the possibility to bring in (or should I say bring back)the Opel brand to Malaysia.That’ll bring more choices for the Conti car enthusiats in Malaysia!

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  • xantia on Aug 12, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    I’ve been using Xantia since 2000 and look with envy on how much Pug has evolved in term of the existence of local support. most of us during our TT session hope that one day Naza (or any reputable local dealer) will be able to take over Citroen bussiness from the current guardian. if this really happens (and we hope it is true) this is a good news for citroen owners. if they could do the same with fiat, it’s a wow factor.

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  • Chris on Jan 16, 2013 at 9:01 pm

    I agree with Jaafar coz the EGS gearbox is tremendously well performed if u know the techniques right.I owned a DS4 and must say it’s a great car. I’m so relief that Naza had taken over the marque as this would serve the existing and new Citroen owner better. No doubt Peugeot and Citroen are great french cars, it just needs a little boost to get people to accept these marques.

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