German sports car maker Porsche officially opened its first manufacturing base outside of Europe in Kulim, Kedah, northern Malaysia on March 28, launching its first locally assembled car for Domestic market.
Porsche formed a joint venture with Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby back in 2020 to produce cars for the Malaysian market, and started building a car production and assembly plant in Kulim that same year. Production of the first car as a base Cayenne model begins in February 2022.
The plant is staffed entirely by Malaysians fully trained by Porsche, and production is supported by a network of local suppliers and service providers who supply many key models for the car.
Porsche built in just two days
Porsche says it takes two days to assemble a Porsche model at the factory, with maximum capacity depending on demand.
The plant is part of a plant operated by Inokom Corporation, a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motor, which already assembles vehicles for BMW, Mini, Mazda and Hyundai.
Sime Darby CEO Salim Davidson said the group was “honored” by Porsche’s continued confidence in Sime Darby, as it offers products that meet Porsche’s highest standards in terms of quality, performance and driving experience.
“The facility not only supports the growth of our business in the Malaysian automotive value chain, but also creates a range of job opportunities to empower the local community,” he said.
Meet the needs of the Malaysian market
Albrecht Reimold, member of Porsche’s Executive Committee for Production and Logistics, said the new assembly plant in Malaysia caters to specific market needs and operates alongside Porsche’s established network of production sites in Europe.
Sime Darby Motors managing director Andrew Basham said there are currently no plans to develop or assemble electric cars at the plant, nor to export the cars to other countries in the region, as the focus is currently on Malaysia.
The new Porsche Centre is scheduled to open in Johor Bahru this year to complement the brand’s existing service facilities in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
The Cayenne model assembled in Kulim starts at 550,000 ringgit ($130,626), which is 115,000 ringgit ($27,313) cheaper than the imported model.
German sports car maker Porsche officially opened its first manufacturing base outside of Europe in Kulim, Kedah, northern Malaysia on March 28, launching its first locally assembled car for Domestic market. Porsche formed a joint venture with Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby back in 2020 to produce cars for the Malaysian market, and started building a car production and assembly plant in Kulim that same year. Production of the first car, the base model of the Cayenne, begins in February 2022. The factory is staffed with fully trained Malaysians…
German sports car maker Porsche officially opened its first manufacturing base outside of Europe in Kulim, Kedah, northern Malaysia on March 28, launching its first locally assembled car for Domestic market.
Porsche formed a joint venture with Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby back in 2020 to produce cars for the Malaysian market, and started building a car production and assembly plant in Kulim that same year. Production of the first car as a base Cayenne model begins in February 2022.
The plant is staffed entirely by Malaysians fully trained by Porsche, and production is supported by a network of local suppliers and service providers who supply many key models for the car.
Porsche built in just two days
Porsche says it takes two days to assemble a Porsche model at the factory, with maximum capacity depending on demand.
The plant is part of a plant operated by Inokom Corporation, a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motor, which already assembles vehicles for BMW, Mini, Mazda and Hyundai.
Sime Darby CEO Salim Davidson said the group was “honored” by Porsche’s continued confidence in Sime Darby, as it offers products that meet Porsche’s highest standards in terms of quality, performance and driving experience.
“The facility not only supports the growth of our business in the Malaysian automotive value chain, but also creates a range of job opportunities to empower the local community,” he said.
Meet the needs of the Malaysian market
Albrecht Reimold, member of Porsche’s Executive Committee for Production and Logistics, said the new assembly plant in Malaysia caters to specific market needs and operates alongside Porsche’s established network of production sites in Europe.
Sime Darby Motors managing director Andrew Basham said there are currently no plans to develop or assemble electric cars at the plant, nor to export the cars to other countries in the region, as the focus is currently on Malaysia.
The new Porsche Centre is scheduled to open in Johor Bahru this year to complement the brand’s existing service facilities in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
The Cayenne model assembled in Kulim starts at 550,000 ringgit ($130,626), which is 115,000 ringgit ($27,313) cheaper than the imported model.
