KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Mercedes-Benz Malaysia president and chief executive officer Sagree Sardien said on Friday (Feb 25) that its planned Asia-Pacific aftersales logistics hub in Johor is still in the early stages of planning.

“This is a very exciting moment because we get to have delivery within the actual place. It creates a lot of opportunities, but we are in the early stages of planning this," she told reporters at the launch of the all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

“This hub will be responsible for importing as well as storing of parts and distribution across Southeast Asia,” she added.

She declined to disclose the amount of investment allocated to build the hub except to say that it is "substantial".

Previously in October last year, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia shared that the new distribution hub at the Senai Airport City is expected to commence its operations in 2024.

A newly-established company, Mercedes Benz Parts Logistics Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a 100% subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, will operate the facility.

Earlier at the launch, Sagree said the all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class is its bestselling model to date and since its introduction, over 10.5 million units had been delivered globally.

“Likewise in Malaysia, our customers love this vehicle as we continue to define the standards of comfort and innovation in the premium midsize sedan segment.

“We are very excited to introduce the new C-Class in Malaysia and with the latest edition, we are taking the next logical step on our road to a digital and sustainable future with a host of innovations that sets the benchmark in this segment,” she said.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia sales and marketing (passengers cars) vice-president Michael Jopp said the new C-Class redefines its segment in several respects at once.

“Following the pinnacle of luxury in the S-Class, the second generation of MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) has already debuted in the new C-Class,” he said.

The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class will be available as completely built-up units in two variants. They are the C 200 Avantgarde Line and the C 300 AMG Line to be priced at RM288,334 and RM330,681 respectively.