Rumours were swirling last year on the possibility of Porsche AG setting up its first assembly plant out of Germany to this region, even more exciting was news that Malaysia were among the countries said to be selected. Of course when asked, Sime Darby Motors the sole distributor for Porsche denied such claims and the speculation eventually subsided.
However, as it turns out the rumour was true and yes! Porsche AG is setting up an assembly plant and have chose Malaysia as the preferred country. Partnering Sime Darby Berhad for the venture, the German sports car maker has confirmed that the assembly plant will be only assembling cars for the Malaysian market with production scheduled to begin in 2022.
Sime Darby Motors has been a partner of choice for Porsche in Malaysia for the last 11 years, representing Porsche as its exclusive distributor and retailer for the sports car brand.
“This partnership with Porsche marks a coming of age of our relationship with the brand. To be entrusted to assemble cars for one of the world’s most admired sports car brands speaks volumes of the highly qualified and competent Malaysian talent we have at Sime Darby and our ability to provide meaningful value to our partners,” Sime Darby Berhad Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson said.
“Malaysia and the whole ASEAN is a region of great potential and we look forward to the first locally assembled models reaching our Malaysian customers next year,” said Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG. “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.”
Assuring customers on quality, Dato Jerri said every Porsche assembled by Sime Darby will go through the same rigorous standards and processes as its European counterparts. Quality will be a shared key commitment between Porsche AG and Sime Darby in the assembling of the vehicles.
Sime Darby is also keen to partner with local vendors to provide seamless supply and production support.
