Bruce Newton•21 Sept 2012
NEWS
No doubt about Peugeot's 408
Malaysian-built sedan a real Peugeot insists local bossPeugeot Automobiles Australia has no qualms about the build quality of the Chinese-built and Malaysian-assembled 408 sedan it will launch in the third quarter of 2013.
Effectively, a new sedan body riding on 308 small-car front-wheel drive mechanicals, the 408 is expected to arrive in August or September in one petrol-auto specification and priced “competitively”.
“My expectation is that it is built by Peugeot so its quality will be good and its safety will be good,” Peugeot Automobiles Australia general manager/director Bill Gillespie told motoring.com.au at this week’s 208 mini-car launch.
“We wouldn’t bring it to this market if we didn’t thing it mated the brand aspiration or the people who already buy Peugeots. There are cars built all over the world. I think they are building the (Volkswagen) Up in Slovakia, so they build them anywhere.”
First seen overseas in 2010, the 408 is primarily aimed at developing Asian, Eastern European and South American market. Australian-spec cars will be manufactured in China and shipped to Malaysia as a kit where they will be assembled. The 408 is also built in Russia and South America.
At 4.68m the 408’s body is almost exactly the same length as the old 407 sedan and about 120mm shorter than the new 508 sedan. The engine expected to come to Australia is a 1.6-litre turbo producing 122kW and 240Nm mated solely to a six-speed auto.
Mr Gillespie nominated the Volkswagen Jetta and some Honda Accord models as direct rivals for the 408, which suggests a price starting well below $30,000: “Pricing is not final, but it will be right on the money,” promised Mr Gillespie.
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Tags
Peugeot
Car News
Sedan
Family Cars
Written byBruce Newton
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
Related articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Love every move.
Buy it. Sell it.Love it.
®Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.