Sime Darby’s motor vehicle production and assembly facility would be the first assembly plant of the German sports car manufacturer outside of Europe, with production scheduled to begin in 2022.
Sime Darby Motors, one of the leading automotive groups in Asia Pacific, has been partnering Porsche in Malaysia for the last 11 years.
CarSifu posted a report in February of rumours that Porsche was going to set up a Malaysian plant, citing The Edge Weekly.
Sime Darby Group chief executive officer Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson said the partnership with Porsche marked a coming of age of its 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.
“The assembly portfolio is a key element in our growth strategy, and we are pleased to extend our relationship with Porsche from retail and distribution to include assembly,” he said.
Jeffri.
Jeffri also said every Porsche assembled by Sime Darby would 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 to all our customers, in assembling Porsche vehicles. We will continue our close engagement with Porsche AG to ensure that we meet the Porsche standard every step of the way,” he said.
Meanwhile, Porsche AG Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing, Detlev von Platen, said Malaysia and the whole Asean is a region of great potential and the German car maker was looking forward to the first locally assembled models reaching Malaysian customers next year.
“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,” he said.
Sime Darby’s vehicle production and assembly facility is today a partner of choice for some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated automotive brands.
While a highly skilled Malaysian workforce drives Sime Darby’s assembly operations, which delivered 17,141 high-value units in FY2021, the company also partners with local vendors to provide seamless supply and production support.
