MALAYSIA TO BECOME HUB FOR PEUGEOT'S RIGHT-HAND DRIVE CARS

IPOH (Malaysia), July 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will become the hub for the export of Peugeot's right-hand drive cars for the Asian and African markets by end of next year, Nasim Sdn Bhd's chief executive officer SM Nasaruddin SM Nasimuddin said Monday.

He said Malaysia will also become the first producer of the right-hand drive
Peugeot model appointed by the French carmaker.

Peugeot has agreed to collaborate with Nasim in producing the sedan car in
the C-segment category under the codename T73, he told reporters after the
signing of an agreement to produce the model between Nasim and Automobiles
Peugeot here.

"The car will be assembled at our factory in Gurun (in the state of Kedah)
and the launch is targeted towards the end of next year," he said.

The memorandum of understanding was signed between Nasaruddin, who
represented the Naza Group of Companies, and Peugeot's vice president
Jean-Philippe Imparato.

Asked about the model coming out, Nasaruddin said the details would only be
announced next year, adding that the model would use either the two-litre or 1.6
turbo engine.

He said Naza and Peugeot had targeted to export 40 per cent production of
the model to Asia and Africa with the remainder for the domestic market in the
first year.

Nasaruddin said the agreement showed Peugeot's belief in Naza's ability to
produce the cars for the Asian market as well as its production quality, work
force and local vendor network.

"The market for Peugeot vehicles is growing well in this country and it has
been the second best-selling European brand for the past two years," he said.

Besides the agreement, Nasim also launched its 13th Peugeot Blue Box sales
and service centre today.

For the first six months of 2010, Nasim has sold 1,200 Peugeot vehicles
nationwide and received 400 bookings for the new sports utility vehicle (SUV)
Peugeot 3008.
-- BERNAMA