Distributor Inchcape is dropping Peugeot from its portfolio, leaving parent company Stellantis to find a new importer for the historic French auto brand in Australia, or take up the task itself.
The move comes after Inchcape – also the local distributor for Subaru, Deepal and Foton – axed Citroen in Australia in 2024. Both brands had been picked up by Inchcape in 2017, having previously been distributed by Sime Darby.
“As part of Inchcape’s standard approach to portfolio management, we continuously review our partnerships to ensure we have the right portfolio of brands for our business, aligned with our strategic growth objectives,” said Inchcape Australia in a statement today.
“As a result, Inchcape Australia and Stellantis have mutually agreed to end their distribution partnership for Peugeot in Australia, with the final date to be confirmed following a transition period.
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“We are working collaboratively with Stellantis to ensure a smooth transition for the brand, with a focus on supporting customers, dealers and partners. We would like to thank Stellantis for their partnership over the years and we wish them every success for the future of the Peugeot brand in Australia.”
Inchcape says it will continue to support the sale of existing stock and handle warranty and servicing work for existing Peugeot owners during the transition period.
The British multinational has a solid top-20 brand here with Subaru, but Peugeot has become an increasingly niche player in Australia, like the now-withdrawn Citroen marque. Inchcape has been pivoting to Chinese brands, picking up Deepal and Foton in the past couple of years.
“Peugeot has a strong future in Australia, supported by a robust product pipeline and a clear long-term strategy,” said Stellantis Australia in a statement.
“We intend to maintain continuity of distribution in Australia and will provide updates as arrangements progress.
“We remain committed to our customers and partners throughout this period and are confident in the brand’s long-term prospects in the Australian market.”
Peugeot’s future product pipeline includes a pair of models developed with Chinese partner Dongfeng, which is also working with fellow Stellantis brand Jeep on a pair of new models. These new Chinese-developed Peugeot and Jeep vehicles are intended for export markets.
Stellantis has stopped short of confirming it will handle distribution, and appears to be leaving the door open for another importer to pick up the brand.
The Stellantis Australia business unit currently handles the Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat and Jeep brands, with other Stellantis brands Ram and Maserati handled locally by distributor Ateco Group and its subsidiary European Automotive Imports, respectively.
Peugeot currently has 29 dealers across every Australian state, albeit not the territories.
The brand reached a height of 8807 sales in 2007 – the same year also being the high watermark for Citroen (3803 sales) – but it has posted year-on-year declines every year since then apart from 2017, 2021 and 2023.
Last year, Peugeot Australia delivered just 1350 vehicles despite having eight model lines (plus leftover stock of discontinued vehicles).
The brand offers some of the widest coverage of the van market of any marque in Australia, with the small petrol and electric Partner van, the diesel and electric mid-size Expert, and the large, diesel-powered Boxer.
Inchcape had previously ceased importing vans for the Citroen brand to allow Peugeot to be its van brand.
In addition to its trio of vans, Peugeot sells the 308 small car, the high-riding 408 mid-size hatch, and the 2008, 3008 and 5008 crossover SUVs.
All of these cars and SUVs are offered exclusively with mild-hybrid power, though many had been confirmed to gain electric powertrains Down Under.
In September 2024, however, Peugeot Australia confirmed it would phase out all of its plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and delay the introduction of various electric vehicles (EVs) previously expected to come here. However, it then announced it would expand its EV lineup from 2025.
This expansion never happened, leaving just two EVs: the E-Expert and E-Partner vans.
Unusually, Peugeot Australia imported small handfuls of E-208 and E-308 hatchbacks, but these were never launched as permanent additions to its lineup.
The mild-hybrid 308 was revealed in facelifted guise in 2025 and confirmed for a launch in the first half of 2026, but this never eventuated.
The Partner van is Peugeot’s strongest-selling vehicle by a considerable margin, with 161 deliveries so far this year – accounting for 43 per cent of the brand’s total sales.
While Inchcape has been pivoting from French brands to Chinese brands, its latest acquisitions have failed to fire.
To the end of May 2026, Peugeot is sitting at just 373 deliveries. But Deepal isn’t doing much better with 594 deliveries year-to-date, hampered by a stop-sale order for its E07 Multitruck, while Foton is sitting at just 557 deliveries.
It’s unclear which of Stellantis’ brands are profitable in Australia.
Ram is the best-selling Stellantis brand here, with 1257 deliveries year-to-date, followed by Fiat (745). Peugeot is in third with 373, followed by Jeep (337), Alfa Romeo (173) and Maserati (80).
You can view historical Peugeot sales data in Australia, from 1991 to the present date, on the CarExpert Sales Atlas.
Originally published as Peugeot dumped by Australian distributor, but Stellantis says French brand will stick around here
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