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By Moses Akaigwe
This is one piece of news that will not gladden the hearts of the teeming lovers of the iconic Peugeot 504 in Nigeria who have been tickled by the news of the impending reincarnation of the car in Nigeria or elsewhere.
This is because it has been confirmed that there there is no plan, either by Stellantis N.V., the multinational owners of the Peugeot brand, or Dangote Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited (DPAN, the representative of the brand and manufacturer of its vehicles in Nigeria), to recommence the production of the beloved model.
Speculation
There has been widespread speculation lately that the rested 504 model — which was replaced by the 505 decades ago — was about to go into production again in a redesigned and more modern mould.
Intact, pictures and video clips of the prototype of what Peugeot lovers believe would be the new 504 have been trending in the social media with many commentators relieving some of the qualities that made the car tick, like strong body, and ruggedness.
Stellantis (Peugeot) responds
But, in an answer to inquiries by The Sun, on Thursday, Stellantis SA (Pty) Ltd, which oversees the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) markets from South Africa, confirmed that the return of a new generation Peugeot 504 is not being considered at all.
In her response, the Head of Corporate Communications, SSA, Nthabiseng Motsepe, clarified that the Peugeot Design Team recently created a one-off 504 station wagon concept – the Peugeot 504 Break Charge.
She, however, explained that the concept car was not designed for mass production, but was created to rekindle the memories of an event, about a quarter of a century ago, when a popular French rap group called 113, rode onto the stage in a 504.
Motsepe disclosed that the emergence of the much talked about new 504 about four months ago, was simply meant to bring back the memories of the 113 band spectacularly driving onto the stage in a Peugeot 504, and nothing more than that.
The Head of Corporate Communications stated: “The Peugeot Design team has taken the opportunity to reinvent the 504 Station Wagon – a unique concept car – for the 113 musical Group at the Flammes 2025, French music awards.
Other News
“It’s a one-shot brand activation. A return of the Peugeot 504 in the Peugeot line-up is not foreseen.”
But, it would appear that the activation has since inspired various other designs by car freaks as can be seen on the internet.
Dangote PAN reacts
Also reacting to the rumoured impending revival of the 504, Dangote Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited (not related in any way to the old Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited, PAN), said there is no such plan in the pipeline.
“There are no official communications from Stellantis on the matter for now,“ said DPAN’s Yunusa Ayuba.
The Peugeot 504 legend
Born in 1968 in France, Peugeot 504 was a very popular car in its mid-size sedan and station wagon variants, especially in the developing countries, including Nigeria where it was patronised mainly by the middle class.
An indication of the side acceptance of the car was that even after Automobiles Peugeot of France (now part of Stellantis) stopped the production of the car in 1983, its assembly continued in Nigeria until 2006 – making it the last country in the world where the vehicle rolled of the assembly line..
Though there may never be a revival of the Peugeot 504, fond memories of the classic car’s satisfactory performance remains evergreen in the hearts of millions of Nigerians.
Apart from the aforementioned ruggedness, it is common belief that the 504 was particularly popular in Nigeria due to its affordability, and suitability for the local motoring environment, notably the road conditions.
The 504 and the old Peugeot series, like 404 and 505, were the most popular cars in the country between the 70s and he 90s, along, of course, with the Volkswagen Beetle.
This was helped by the fact that Peugeot had a reliable after-sales support, while many owners, and even the most inexperienced roadside mechanics, found it easy to work on the vehicles with the roaring lion nameplate.
