First homegrown Peugeot rolls off assembly line

STAFF REPORTERThe first locally assembled Peugeot 3008 rolled off the production line at a vehicle assembly plant in Walvis Bay last week.This long-awaited development was widely welcomed, especially after the commencement of operations at the assembly plant was delayed due to complications with customs and excise, which prompted trade and industrialisation minister Tjekero Tweya to intervene.The assembly plant is a joint venture by Groupe PSA and Namibia’s Auas Motors, which is a subsidiary of Nictus Holdings. PSA purchased General Motors in 2017. Auas Motors represents the General Motors brand in Namibia.The 3008 is greatThe 3008 is a second-generation SUV which has been internationally lauded since its release and was named the 2017 European Car of the Year.The vehicle is the fifth Peugeot to win Car of the Year and the first SUV honoured in the history of the European COTY prize.The Peugeot 3008 offers a unique blend of style, comfort and road handling. The spectacular Peugeot i-Cockpit® is state of the art and gives new meaning to being in the driver’s seat.It offers a more intuitive and intense driving experience, with a compact steering wheel, 12.3” head-up display and central capacitive touchscreen console with ergonomic piano keys to top it all off. The new Peugeot 3008 also offers a number of driving aids and other high-tech equipment, as well as seamless connectivity.The Walvis Bay assembly plant will focus on the assembly of Opel’s Grandland X and the Peugeot 3008 from semi-knockdown (SKD) kits, which are significantly cheaper to import than the finished vehicle.Groupe PSA’s global growth planThe group’s initial target volume at Walvis Bay, set up in partnership with the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC), is 5 000 vehicles a year by 2020, starting with the Grandland X and Peugeot 3008.Other vehicles will follow, based on customer demand in the SACU countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.This agreement is part of the Group’s strategic growth plan, which aims to satisfy customer expectations in all the regions in which the Group operates.It materialises Groupe PSA’s ambition to develop internationally by directly producing within Middle East and Africa 70% of the vehicles sold in the region.This project is also the illustration that Opel brand has a real potential in the region. The manufacturing of Opel models locally has been decided and implemented in a record time frame, less than four months after the announcement of the strategic plan on 9 November 2017."This investment in Namibia is part of the long-term strategy of Groupe PSA to increase its sales in Africa and the Middle East, consistent with our target to sell one million vehicles in 2025.“This new capacity will serve regional markets with products in line with our Opel and Peugeot customer expectation,” said Groupe PSA’s executive vice-president for the Middle East and Africa Region, Jean-Christophe Quemard.

First homegrown Peugeot rolls off assembly line

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Republikein 2025-06-17

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First homegrown Peugeot rolls off assembly line

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