Peter Lyon
July 29, 2024
It was just a matter of time before Citroen made a timely comeback to Malaysia, replacing the “mass market” brand as part of Stellantis Malaysia’s updated lineup.
However, the precise model that will be debut here is still unclear, despite the French company’s appearance at the 2024 Malaysia Autoshow with the C3 Aircross. The speculation is now over as we can confirm that the Citroen Basalt is one of the vehicles the business has planned for Malaysia.
No auto executive could have made the point any clearer than Jamie Francis Morais, managing director of Stellantis Malaysia, when he broke the news in a LinkedIn post, saying that the model is “coming soon.”
In essence, the Basalt is a coupe variant of the C3 Aircross, distinguished from its more upright siblings by a sloping roofline, a distinctively sculpted rear end, and model-exclusive bumpers up front.
Although the Basalt is not expected to be officially introduced in India until next month, no technical data have been released as of yet. Expect a Malaysian launch soon after that. However, as it has the same chassis as the C3, we’ll infer that it will also be available with the same 1.2-liter PureTech three-cylinder engines, which provide 110 horsepower and 190 Nm and 82 horsepower and 115 Nm, respectively.
We anticipate the Basalt will be locally assembled in Malaysia and exported to other right-hand drive markets, utilising the facility’s 60,000 unit annual capacity, thanks to Stellantis Malaysia’s significant investment in its Gurun plant.
Since the C3 and C3 Aircross have the same platform, we assume it’s only a matter of time until they are also released in Malaysia, where the Basalt has now been confirmed. In any case, Stellantis Malaysia will have a busy few years ahead of them with the return of Citroen and the impending launch of at least two additional brands.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
It’s great to hear that Citroen is returning to the Malaysian market with some stylish, reasonably priced models that are just the right size for the local market. Just how many models Stellantis will add to its Citroen lineup is still unclear but if the market takes to the Basalt, then we can expect a quick decision to multiply the lineup.
