Volkswagen Group Malaysia and local partner DRB-HICOM have officially started assembly of the Passat from SKD kits in Pekan.
The partners also laid the foundation stone for a new production hall at the plant site. In a second stage, the Jetta and Polo will be produced – from CKD kits.
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Under joint VW-DRB-HICOM plans, Malaysian production is to be expanded in stages.
This is similar to the path trod when VW established assembly in Russia and India – beginning with SKD facilities (for multiple group brands rather than VW alone) and following up with increasingly complex CKD assembly. VW India now presses panels locally.
VW group production chief Michael Macht said: “[The] start of production is a key step in the long-term development of the Malaysian automobile market. By expanding its activities in Malaysia, the [group] will significantly reinforce its position in this key market.”
DRB-HICOM produces passenger cars and commercial vehicles at its Pekan and Melaka plants. With a nationwide distribution network, DRB-HICOM is also a major vehicle dealer and automobile importer.
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By GlobalDataVW and DRB-HICOM signed an agreement for local assembly at Pekan at the end of 2010.
In 2011, the VW group saw annual growth of 20% in deliveries in the Asia/Pacific region to 2.57m vehicles. In the first two months of 2012, some 451,000 units were delivered, up 14.4%.
“Apart from the growth markets of China and Asia, the ASEAN region is becoming increasingly important for the group as a key market for the future under ‘Strategy 2018’,” VW said.
