NAZA – PSA Group ASEAN Manufacturing Hub Gets A New Boss

Laurence Noël has been appointed as the new CEO of the Naza Automotive Manufacturing (NAM) joint venture, and Senior Vice President of ASEAN markets, effective 1st May 2018.

The NAM joint venture, inked in February of this year, establishes a shared operation between PSA Group (owners of Peugeot, Citroen, and DS Automobiles), and NAZA to operate the Group’s first ASEAN manufacturing hub, in Gurun, Kedah.

In her new position, based in Kuala Lumpur, Noël will report Carlos Gomes, Executive Vice President, China & Southeast Asia, and execute PSA Group’s development in Southeast Asia, as part of the company's larger ‘Push to Pass’ plan, first announced in 2016. Laurence Noël joined Group PSA in 1995. After holding various positions in Powertrain Projects and Programmes, she took charge of Powertrain, Platform and Module Programmes in 2014.

The NAM joint venture will oversee the production and marketing of Peugeot, Citroën, and DS Automobiles vehicles in Malaysia and other ASEAN markets.

The first vehicles to be produced locally will be the Peugeot 3008 in 2018, followed by the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV in 2019.

The Naza Automotive Manufacturing (NAM) plant in Gurun, Kedah has been in operation since 2004, has a workforce of close to 450 people, and boasts a 50,000 vehicle per year production capacity.