Volkswagen appoints AutoStadt as sole importer
Volkswagen Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd has appointed AutoStadt Asia Sdn Bhd as the sole importer of Volkswagen cars in the country. Want to know who owns AutoStadt? 499,999 shares are held by a certain Zulkifli Ishak and 1 share is held by his wife, Annie Tajul Arus.
Annie’s name might come across as familiar to some people. Yup, she is Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz’s niece. The husband and wife businessmen recently lost part of their rice bowl as MITI stopped giving out franchise APs for Kleemann cars. Their company Emeritus Equities Sdn Bhd used to receive franchise APs for the Kleemann-tuned Mercedes Benz cars they were selling.
MITI has not released 2006’s AP allocations yet but I think we can assume AutoStadt has gotten hold of Volkswagen’s franchise APs since they obtained the sole importer status.
I wonder what happened to the talk of Quasar Carriage becoming Super Dealer. Will they still hold Super Dealer status? And why if yes, why not let them be the importers as well? An industry player stated “VW Malaysia prefers to have an exclusive tie-up with a player that does not currently have a major commitment to other brands. Quasar fits the bill because it is also a distributor of Skoda”. Skoda is a marque under the Volkswagen Group.
Over the next two years, Volkswagen will introduce a total of 9 models beginning with the lower end models like the Volkswagen Fox and the Volkswagen Polo. As time goes on, the more premium models like the Beetle, Golf GTI, Passat and the Sharan MPVs will be brought in. These will be CBU models, which means fully imported as a whole. In 2008/2009, Volkswagen will begin assembling CKD kits here in Malaysia with a local partner which was not revealed, or unknown.
Volkswagen will also be officiating it’s new Malaysian headquarters in Wisma UOA, Bangsar tomorrow. Their office takes up 5 floors and will be the nerve centre of the VW Group’s activities in Malaysia.
Source: The Edge Daily, Just Auto
February 15, 2006 @ 12:10 pm
I think Quasar may not be able to hold their Super Dealer status anymore seeing as the conditions for AP issuing are very tight nowadays. The second reason it might not be held by them is because of competition between Quasar and Emeritus Equities.
Gone are the hopes of getting a “cheap” Volkwagen Golf GT-I. Way to go Malaysia.
February 15, 2006 @ 1:13 pm
Just think, Rafidah just got returned to the cabinet in today’s newspaper announcement.
Sort of makes her more powerful than ever, doesn’t it?
Our beloved PM also said MITI is about more than AP’s and I’m sure Rafidah’s niece is thanking him right now.
So much for transparency and cronyism.
February 15, 2006 @ 1:27 pm
so the issue of AP permits will still rumbles on… It might be a very dangerous political move by MITI
February 15, 2006 @ 3:24 pm
According to NAP (Oct ‘05) to be implemented w/ immediate effect
Amendments to Approved Permit (AP)
a. Freeze issuance of APs for new vehicle brand imports
b. Discontinue APs for “tuned-up†vehicles
c. Allow Bumiputera-controlled PLCs to apply for APs
d. Limit Open APs to only import 1 to 5 year old vehicles
February 15, 2006 @ 9:59 pm
i tau model aper p2 keluar next year.. i pernah tengok skali kat R&D perodua.. ok laa jugak…i terlibat dlm proses development model ni….we call this car D18D model
February 16, 2006 @ 2:01 pm
i have been dreaming of owning a golf car. but with prices the same as a two storey house, it remains a dream
March 1, 2006 @ 12:20 pm
[...] Well, looks like there we have it. Cycle and Carriage for the distributorship and AutoStadt Asia as the sole importer. Not sure about Quasar Carriage. Anyone want a Volkswagen Golf TDI? [...]
May 8, 2006 @ 10:11 pm
[...] Part of Volkswagen AG’s long term plans in Malaysia is to introduce CKD models by 2008 while selling CBU models in the mean while, but circumstances have changed. Volkswagen is in talks with 3 local partners for assembly of CKD kits for the German marque’s cars. Launching CKD models by 2008 would only give it about 1.5 to 2 years to build it’s brand and dealership network. [...]
July 6, 2006 @ 9:22 am
[...] I am disappointed with this as it is similiar to the shake leg AP middlemen situation which existed back before the new National Automotive Policy was formed. The fact that AutoStadt Asia Sdn Bhd’s owners are the same people who own Emeritus Equities Sdn Bhd who lost their rice bowl when the government stopped giving them Kleemann APs gives you more reason to be suspicious. If you want to know who the owners are, click here. You will not be suprised. [...]