Will Malaysians buy a local assembled Porsche?

KUALA LUMPUR: In early 2021, there were rumours in the Malaysian automotive industry that Porsche AG was exploring local assembly in Malaysia for the ASEAN region. This rumour was dismissed many times by the Porsche Malaysia office until we had a face to face meeting with senior management from the Porsche official importers office who confirmed that Porsche AG had done their due diligence over the past two years on the viability of the ASEAN market and the sales growth in all the ASEAN countries.

With Porsche in Malaysia being under the Sime Darby Motors automotive umbrella, it was obvious that the first choice assembly plant will be the Inokom Plant in Kulim, Kedah which is operated by the Sime Darby Group. This plant is already assembling BMW and MINI vehicles which confirms its quality and finish.

Then there is also the assembly of Hyundai and Mazda vehicles for the region at the same plant which further strengthens the viability of having a high-quality product from Porsche locally assembled for Malaysian and also ASEAN buyers.

So, the launch of Porsche's first assembly plant outside of Europe located in Kulim, Kedah was done yesterday, the 29th of March 2022. This Porsche plant will be 100 percent staffed by highly skilled Malaysians, all of whom have received comprehensive training from the German auto manufacturer.

The launch included the showcasing of the very first locally-assembled (CKD) sports utility vehicle (SUV) Cayenne with a special commemorative chassis numbered 00001.

It would take two days to complete production of a single Porsche model at the plant, with maximum capacity per-time period expandable depending on demand.

The launch of Porsche's Kulim assembly plant was officiated by the Raja Muda of Kedah Tengku Sarafudin Badlishah Ibni Al Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin, Kedah minister Datuk Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, along with Sime Darby, Porsche AG and Porsche Asia Pacific executive board members and management.

The only question that seems to be asked right now is ‘will Malaysian Porsche buyers pay a premium price for a Malaysian made Porsche Cayenne?’. Well, to answer that question is easy, Malaysians have been paying a premium price for BMW’s 7 Series, 5 Series and also X3 SUV which comes from the same assembly plant and with their years of experience in making sure every vehicle leaving the plant receives the same quality stamp as the cars made in Germany, there should be no difference with a Porsche Cayenne from Kulim.

Also read: Next-gen Porsche 718 to go fully electric in the future