Toyota and Lexus to resume operations in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: As the Malaysian government eases the restrictions on the automotive industry, UMW Toyota Motors (the official distributor of Toyota and Lexus) have announced commencing operations - manufacturing sales and service.

UMW Toyota president, Ravindran Kurusamy said, “We welcome the easing of the restrictions which have posed an increasing challenge to our business over the past two months. Resuming our business activities, especially at Toyota and Lexus retail outlets will enable a return to some form of normalcy so we can move forward and do our part to help in the economic recovery of the country.”

He further added the automaker understands the seriousness of the situation (COVID-19 spread and contamination) and therefore pledges to follow all standard operating procedures, guidelines and conditions set by the Malaysian health ministry and the National Security Council.

He said, In fact, after the movement control order last year, we already implemented many of the SOPs at our showrooms and service centres, and these have been maintained even until now. These include temperature scanning of everyone, registration with MySejahtera, use of hand sanitisers and face masks, and regular sanitisation of premises,

It is to be noted that the reopening of the showrooms and service centres is limited to federal territories and states with over 50 percent vaccination rate. Such arrears include - Labuan, Klang Valley, Sabah, Negeri Sembilan, Sarawak, Perlis, Perak, Kelantan, Pahang, and Terengganu.

Furthermore, owners visiting the service centre would be required to make prior appointments. Also, contactless payment is encouraged and social distancing will be observed by all.

As for the resuming of the manufacturing operations, the automaker will now be able to clear its backlogs. The Bukit Raja and Shah Alam plants along with other factories will operate at specific capacities (depending on the percentage of vaccinated workers). The factories will operate at full capacity once more than 80% of the workforce is vaccinated.

On the same note, Ravindran said, “The company has been carrying out a vaccination programme and all our employees have already been vaccinated or will be vaccinated very soon.” He added, “Despite the less encouraging sales numbers for the months of June and July, we still have a strong order bank of bookings for the various models and will move forward swiftly to respond accordingly to minimise any impact to our business and customers.”

Besides all this, UMW Toyota Motor’s plan to assemble hybrid vehicles locally in 2021 which were halted due to the lockdown is now back underway.

The company’s Deputy Chairman, Akio Takeyama said, “Now that the restrictions are lifted, we have more certainty as there are many important plans in the pipeline. For example, we have been preparing for the local assembly of Toyota Hybrid Electric Vehicles and while the past two months have disrupted planning, we will now proceed as quickly as possible to make up for the time lost.”

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