MANILA, Philippines – French luxury carmaker Peugeot is expanding further in the Philippines, pushing for more dealerships under a new distributor.

Peugeot Philippines’ new distributor is Spanish company Astara, one of Europe and Latin America’s largest automotive distributors.

Christophe Musy, senior vice president of Stellantis, the company which houses the Peugeot brand, said the deal with Astara “will bring to the Philippines its strong expertise in strategy implementation and a wealth of cross-market experience to realize the potential of Peugeot in the Philippines.”

Peugeot is set to open seven more dealerships in 2022, bringing its total to 11 outlets by the end of the year.

The carmaker is bullish despite coronavirus variants creeping in. It plans to introduce four new vehicles in 2022.

The first model introduced for the year is the sleek Peugeot 5008 SUV, which retails at around P2.2 million and boasts “a bolder exterior and more high-tech features.”

The SUV also has “intelligent features,” including removable seats in row three and a flat folding front passenger seat. The brochure can be viewed here.

The Peugeot 5008 model is noticeably cheaper now, as manufacturing is done in neighboring country Malaysia.

“The turbocharged 7-seater crossover aims to attract buyers from other brands and increase market share,” Peugeot said in a statement. – Rappler.com