Third quarter Oz launch for Peugeot 3008

THE Peugeot 3008 small SUV originally planned to launch in Australia around mid-year will now arrive well into the third quarter due to unprecedented demand in its domestic European market.

GoAuto was contacted by a reader whose local Peugeot dealership advised them that 3008 production had been halted by a recent fire that damaged a factory based in the Czech Republic supplying interior components for the model.

The reader had been told the Australian 3008 launch was delayed until August as a result of the fire.

But a spokesperson for Australian Peugeot importer Sime Darby told GoAuto the delay was not caused by the fire and that the company had been informed in late January that the first three months of 3008 production had been quickly exhausted, causing a delay in local deliveries.

“At this stage we don’t have an exact arrival time for Australia but is going to fall into Q3, slightly later than expected,” they said.

Orders for the 3008 topped 60,000 in the three months after its launch, which the Sime Darby spokesperson said had forced the Sochaux facility in eastern France to prioritise left-hand-drive production in a bid to satisfy demand.

When the 3008 eventually arrives in Australia, it will be powered by a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engines, driving the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.

A flagship GT variant with high-powered diesel engine is not yet confirmed for this market.

The 3008 interior was revealed in May last year, debuting an evolution of Peugeot’s design language but persevering with the brand’s polarising high-set instrument panel and low-slung, small-diameter steering wheel layout, but this time with customisable digital dials.

For Australian Peugeot dealerships the new 3008 cannot come soon enough as sales slumped 21.8 per cent last year to just 3129 units and continued to decline in the first month of 2017 with a 30.4 per cent slide.

If its European success is anything to go by, the 3008 should become Peugeot’s best seller in SUV-hungry Australia.