2024 Peugeot 408 1.6T launching at Malaysia Auto Show this May, to fight Honda Civic & Mazda 3

With Peugeot now being out from under the care of Bermaz, parent company Stellantis sees the French brand as a pivotal catalyst in the broader group official rollout into the Malaysian market. And it starts with the all-new 408, slated to launch in Q2 of 2024.

Even while Peugeot was under different distributorship, news of the 408’s arrival and localisation process would crop up from time to time. Stellantis Malaysia shares the optimism about the model, and has fast-tracked its local assembly for that second quarter launch window, specifically some time in May.

We can’t really point to a car that it definitely competes against, but its classification into the C-segment would technically mean it locking horns with the Honda Civic and Mazda 3, though the 408 does defy convention in terms of its styling and design.

Peugeot themselves term the car as a ‘Dynamic Fastback’. A quick glance at the car will probably tell you it’s quite a handsome thing, if unconventional, sporting cues from a sedan (its side silhouette), a hatchback (its roof-hinged tailgate), and a crossover (its black lower perimeter cladding and slight raised ground clearance of 189mm).

In terms of pricing, it’s clear that Peugeot has been making an upmarket push and therefore could likely be positioned higher than the Civic, so keep that in consideration when contrasting this against the previous generation 408 launched here.

Malaysia is actually quite late to the party in ASEAN, with the car having already been launched in multiple neighbouring countries. Unlike the PHEV-only range sold in Thailand, the Malaysian spread will more closely follow its Vietnam spec, and there’s good reason to believe the car will be offered here, as it is there, in 3 variants: Allure, Premium, and GT.

All are expected to be powered by the same engine, namely a 1.6-litre PureTech turbocharged four-cylinder petrol with 218PS and 300Nm mated to an 8-speed automatic driving the front wheels.

In Vietnam, the 408 starts at 1,019,000,000 VND (or around RM193k) for the base Allure, 1,119,000,000 VND (or ~RM212k) for the mid-tier Premium, and 1,269,000,000 VND (or ~RM241k) for the range-topping GT.

At those prices, the Peugeot 408 range will come (dangerously?) close to cars, albeit smaller ones, from German marques such as the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, which kicks off at RM219k. The Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan launched at the end of 2023, meanwhile, are at RM239k. Just food for thought.

Of course, it won’t be a 1-to-1 currency swap when it does arrive next month, and there are plenty of things we’re not aware of that Stellantis are doing to make the 408’s price as attractive as possible to Malaysians.

Equipment levels are fairly high with the Allure coming fitted with 18-inch alloys, LED headlights, leather interior upholstery, combination 10-inch digital instrument cluster and 10-inch infotainment touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and a suite of active safety features.

For the additional outlay, the GT receives goodies such as Matrix LED headlights, 20-inch wheels, Nappa leather trim, a 360-degree surround view camera system, and a premium 10-speaker sound system from Focal.

Of course, we’ll have more coverage of the 408 as it draws closer to that official launch. Stay tuned!