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KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 30): Sime Darby Bhd is collaborating with Porsche AG to assemble the latter’s sports car for the Malaysian market only.
The cars will be assembled at Sime Darby’s motor vehicle and production and facility — which will be the first assembly plant of the German sports car manufacturer outside of Europe — with production slated to start in 2022.
In February, The Edge reported that Porsche was partnering with Inokom Corporation Sdn Bhd — a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motors, which is in turn a subsidiary of Sime Darby — to set up an assembly plant in Kulim, Kedah.
“This partnership with Porsche marks the 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 about the highly qualified and competent Malaysian talent we have at Sime Darby and our ability to provide meaningful value to our partners,” Sime Darby Bhd group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson said in a statement.
“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 added.
Meanwhile, Porsche AG’s member of the executive board for sales and marketing Detlev von Platen said the luxury carmaker is looking forward to its locally-assembled cars 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.”
Meanwhile, Jeffri assured that each 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 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 added.
At the noon break today, Sime Darby settled four sen or 1.7% higher at RM2.39, giving it a market capitalisation of RM16.19 billion.