Nasim Sdn Bhd launches the new Peugeot 308
The award winning Peugeot 308 has been launched into the Malaysian automotive market by Nasim Sdn Bhd, the official franchise holder of Peugeot automobiles in Malaysia on Thursday, 29 January 2009 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The new Peugeot 308 was launched by Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.
The new 308 which was the winner of the “Golden Lenkrad” award in 2007 in Germany in its category and also recently the AMI NZ Autocar Car of the Year 2008 in its category is set to offer Malaysian car buyers more choice apart from the current offerings available in the market. Members of the public who are interested to view the car can do so at all Nasim branches and authorised dealers from 3.08pm onwards on the same day.
The new Peugeot 308 which had received positive remarks on its exterior design from Paul Owen, Editor of Autocar Magazine New Zealand, motoring journalist and chief judge for AMI NZ Autocar Car of the Year 2008 award and Mr. Dave Moore, the Editor of the Press, Christchurch, New Zealand said “Here’s substance and style unmatched by its rivals in the compact class” and “A five-star Euro NCAP crash rating, and standard stability control make the 308 a safe family offering” respectively.
The new 308 which is locally assembled at the Naza Automotive Manufacturing plant in Gurun, Kedah will be available in 5 door form and come with the new EP6 series of 1.6 litre engines. The EP6 engines have won the International Engine of the Year Award twice, in 2007 and 2008 and are a result of a collaboration between Automobiles Peugeot and BMW.
Malaysians will be offered 2 variants of the new Peugeot 308; the Peugeot 308 VTi and the Peugeot 308 Turbo. Both are available with only automatic transmissions with System Tiptronic Porsche; a feature that allows drivers to select manual gear selection or fully automatic. En SM Nasarudin said that these two models reflect the growing taste of Malaysian buyers for European automobiles. He adds that the cars have been very well specified and are being positioned as premium offerings within their respective segments. “The performance of the 308 Turbo is already as good as some 2.0 litre competitors and in some cases even better. The 308 offers a combination of strong engine performance, with top-notch creature comforts, space and safety for both the VTi and Turbo and these alone, are strong points for anyone considering the new 308. Our theme ‘Naturally Efficient’ for the launch shows just how far the automobile has progressed and in the 308’s case, it represents efficiency in all areas; performance, spaciousness, fuel economy, safety and also towards the environment.” He added that customers should get into the car and feel the difference when compared to the car’s competitors.
The Peugeot 308 VTi and Peugeot 308 Turbo models are Nasim’s spearhead into the hotly contested C-segment and Nasim is confident of achieving strong sales performance while carving out its own niche as mentioned by En SM Nasarudin. This was due to the strong combination of the features offered, the individualistic Peugeot styling that allows it to stand out from the crowd, the already legendary Peugeot ride, handling and reliability and being the only European representative in its price range. With the Peugeot 407 as a testimony to the marque’s acceptance into Malaysian mainstream automotive market, Nasim Sdn Bhd is confident of the 308 repeating the success. En SM Nasarudin adds Nasim Sdn Bhd will continue to introduce new and exciting Peugeot models into the Malaysian market that are very competitive in their price and size segments as part of Nasim’s strategy for Peugeot in Malaysia.
During the launch, Yayasan Naza had also donated the sum of RM500,000 to the “Amanah Kemanusiaan Rakyat Palestin” fund to assist them with the rebuilding of their country and to alleviate their suffering caused by war. The cheque was received by YB Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Price:
Peugeot 308 VTi 1.6 A/T (OTR) RM96,500.00
Peugeot 308 Turbo 1.6 A/T (OTR) RM111,000.00
