Porsche to commence CKD operations in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: With an intent to expand its presence in South East Asia, Porsche AG has finally decided to establish an assembly plant in Malaysia. This is definitely a much-required boost to the local market, which somewhat lags behind neighbouring countries (Thailand and Indonesia) in terms of huge investments by international automakers. The Malaysian facility will be Porsche's first plant outside Germany.

For that, the company has partnered with Sime Darby Motors, who officially retails Porsche cars in Malaysia under “Sime Darby Auto Performance.” The CKD operations will commence from 2022 onwards, Porsche confirmed.

If we see the Sime Darby Motors cars assembly portfolio at present, the company is engaged in making BMW, MINI, Hyundai, and Mazda cars at its Inokom plant located in Kulim, Kedah. The facility has an annual production capacity of 38,000 units.

While commenting on establishing the new plant, Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche said, “We’re fortunate that, due to careful planning, our existing factories are more than up to the task of meeting current and future global demand for our cars.”

“However, the new assembly site in Malaysia meets specific market needs and, although a standalone project and modest in size and capacity, it signals our willingness to learn and adapt to specific local market conditions,” he added.

Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing mentioned that the first locally-assembled Porsche cars are most likely to hit the Malaysian market next year. He further said, “As Porsche is moving into a new era of mobility, Malaysia and the ASEAN region are gaining an increasing importance. This step now is part of a long-standing initiative to keep pace with rapidly evolving customer and market demands.”

Currently, Porsche CBU models on offer in Malaysia are - Cayenne, Macan, Panamera, 911, Taycan, and 718. Which out of these will be assembled locally has not yet been confirmed. 

Also read: 2022 Porsche Taycan comes with a handful of upgrades, including fast charging