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Volkswagen Indonesian CKD assembly plant could begin full scale manufacturing in 2012

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Volkswagen CrossTouran

Volkswagen has confirmed its Indonesian plant deal. The Indonesian plant will be set up in cooperation with the Indomobil Group, who is the parent company of Volkswagen’s Indonesian distributor PT Garuda Mataram Motor.

The plant will start off as an assembly plant, putting together CKD packs from elsewhere, but full scale manufacturing could begin in 2012, 3 years from now. The plant will churn out the Volkswagen Touran from CKD packs in the hundreds as first. Then Touran output will increase, and eventually other models will also be assembled there. Indonesia is pretty much an MPV market and if the Touran manages to capture the Indonesian MPV buyer’s fancy sufficiently, it could justify the volumes for full-fledged production that goes beyond just putting together CKD packs.

Touran Interior

The Volkswagen Touran is an MPV built on the Golf platform. There is also a version with offroader elements called the CrossTouran (shown above), which was brought in to Malaysia last year for some reasons but VW Malaysia did not sell the car. Some pre-owned units with a 1.4 liter TSI engine and DSG transmission went on sale late last year for about RM165k.

21 Comments »

  1. Pete said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 11:50 am

    There goes another example of how much harm our ‘national car industry’ has done to our economy.

  2. Alifzzz said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 11:51 am

    What yo see is not going to be what you get..
    I wonder the thrd row leg spacing is so narrow..

  3. Black Dog said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 12:09 pm

    [quote comment="237692"]What yo see is not going to be what you get..
    I wonder the thrd row leg spacing is so narrow..[/quote]

    The space is enormous compared with the back seat of Porsche 911. Ha! Ha!

    Anyway, that space is for kids below 12, not YOU.

  4. azrai said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 12:23 pm

    Paul, where’s the ROn 92 to 95 story?

  5. Reasonably Insane said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 12:27 pm

    [quote comment="237690"]There goes another example of how much harm our ‘national car industry’ has done to our economy.[/quote]

    what harm has been done pete?

  6. kari said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 12:27 pm

    [quote comment="237690"]There goes another example of how much harm our ‘national car industry’ has done to our economy.[/quote]

    ok…. if there is no proton…. how come government want to generate money from as the oil is running out…. just waiting for foreign investment ??…. ridiculous…. you better get to know even better in economic prospect…. any time the country can be in excruciating situation…

    but still … the money is still flowing inside the country…. eventhough its Proton… 20 years maa…. give time la…..

    so much complain… better u set up ur own country…..

    there is must be a purpose why Mahathir established Proton…

    no body want to establish company just to generate losing money all the time… thus harm the country’s economy margin…

    typical Malaysia…… Malaysia cannot go far if there is still Malaysian with this kind of Mentality….

  7. muryadi said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 1:43 pm

    Some pre-owned units with a 1.4 liter TSI engine and DSG transmission went on sale late last year for about RM165k.

    ———————————————————————–

    Mahal tu just for 1.4 liter MPV…even though with extra bhp and Nm torque!!!

  8. dcwhz83 said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 1:48 pm

    i have taken a few rides in the Touran before… and its marketed at quite a high price tag in Europe… it promises good handling, but the seats are hard/tough and the ride is quite bumpy… typical of European ride…

    if Exora enters the Indonesian market, i cant see how it will lose to the Touran except for engine power… Typical of asian roads which could be very harsh, Exora would provide better comfort for the whole family… and at a cheaper price tag too… In msia, Exora is priced same as a CKD swift… but in Europe, a Touran is 2-3 times more expensive than the Swift… and thats a big difference in pricing level…

  9. Cross Polo said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 2:17 pm

    [quote comment="237698"][quote comment="237690"]There goes another example of how much harm our ‘national car industry’ has done to our economy.[/quote]

    ok…. if there is no proton…. how come government want to generate money from as the oil is running out…. just waiting for foreign investment ??…. ridiculous…. you better get to know even better in economic prospect…. any time the country can be in excruciating situation…

    but still … the money is still flowing inside the country…. eventhough its Proton… 20 years maa…. give time la…..

    so much complain… better u set up ur own country…..

    there is must be a purpose why Mahathir established Proton…

    no body want to establish company just to generate losing money all the time… thus harm the country’s economy margin…

    typical Malaysia…… Malaysia cannot go far if there is still Malaysian with this kind of Mentality….[/quote]
    Malaysia are always Malaysia, always thinking them self. Hey… please grown up. Be open minded, don’t think narrow. Our Mantan thinking out of the box but Malaysian always sit under “Tempurung”. How our economy can grow if we always losing our money out of country ?. Please generate our mind to think out of the box.

  10. Pete said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 2:39 pm

    [quote comment="237698"][quote comment="237690"]There goes another example of how much harm our ‘national car industry’ has done to our economy.[/quote]

    ok…. if there is no proton…. how come government want to generate money from as the oil is running out…. just waiting for foreign investment ??…. ridiculous…. you better get to know even better in economic prospect…. any time the country can be in excruciating situation…

    but still … the money is still flowing inside the country…. eventhough its Proton… 20 years maa…. give time la…..

    so much complain… better u set up ur own country…..

    there is must be a purpose why Mahathir established Proton…

    no body want to establish company just to generate losing money all the time… thus harm the country’s economy margin…

    typical Malaysia…… Malaysia cannot go far if there is still Malaysian with this kind of Mentality….[/quote]

    Hi kari,
    Obviously you are not familiar with the economics of comparative advantage. Malaysia simply hasn’t got the comparative advantage when it comes to manufacturing cars, given our small population, read, small market unless of course we are catering for the export market too (our national car ind definitely ain’t not!), amongst many other factors.
    Certainly every Malaysian worth his salt knows for a fact the big M had his reasons for establishing proton but i’m not sure the proton of today is exactly what he had in mind then… Anyway in case you don’t know, many Thais refer to him as the father of the Thai auto industry. You know, investments, just like VW which would have come our way and not Thailand or now Indonesia if not for the state of our auto industry.
    My point is not just that. Worse than that. We end up paying so much more for a car that would have cost so much less to build. This is all old story anyway but since you asked like you never knew…. nothing to do with mentality or what not.
    Cheers

  11. 4G63T DSM said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 2:50 pm

    [quote comment="237697"][quote comment="237690"]There goes another example of how much harm our ‘national car industry’ has done to our economy.[/quote]

    what harm has been done pete?[/quote]

    Wow, you really want to go through all that again? Still not clear what harm it has caused us? National Car Industry = NAP, whether you like it or not.

    If there is no local industry to protect, then you wont need any protective measures would you?

    1) closed door policy limits FDI
    2) artificial anti-competive measures such as biased tax structures and “special requirements” (….AP anyone?)
    3) biased profit sharing and other “special rights”

    Sometimes, these idots don’t see that it doen’t need to be a local brand to be called local. I would rather a non-local brand, built here and exported (is, as a regional manufacturing hub), than one that is local, built here but have only limited prospects anywhere else.

    If Honda/Toyota/Nissan/VW started to build all thier ASEAN cars in Malaysia and exporting them to the rest of Asia, the NET benefit would be WAAAY more than what out locals can achieve.

    Malaysia was a prime candidate for all good things good in the region. Somehow we end up shooting ourselves in the name of National PRIDE.

    Soon we will have to compare ourselves to Zimbabwe or something to make us feel good about ourselves.

  12. Cross Polo said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 4:20 pm

    Paul, Cross tauran will available on all VW cars this month coz new shipment have arrive. Please check at VW Cars PJHQ for info. This what i heard.

  13. goguncas71 said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 5:06 pm

    Ha ha.. same story and lies again.

    We close our market and block FDI into the car industry?

    What about Toyota/Daihatsu owned Perodua? That’s a pretty big FDI. How much has it benefitted the nation? How much taxes did they pay? How much have they exported? Are we a production hub for any models? Are Perodua giving value for money to consumers?
    Did giving Toyota/Daihatsu a national car status (via P2) turn Malaysia into a mini detroit of the east? Keep dreaming…

    The P2 story is the reason why the Govt insists on Proton being locally owned.

    Is Proton protected when it has to go head to head with Toyota/Daihatsu owned P2 on a level playing field?

  14. JULIAN_LEE said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 5:28 pm

    BMW X5 better

  15. nazri said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 5:57 pm

    somehow i see the vw touran like hyundai matrix..

  16. NA said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 6:20 pm

    WIsh they don’t sell CBU Indonesian New Golf here.

  17. Luqman said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 6:49 pm

    [quote comment="237731"]i have taken a few rides in the Touran before… and its marketed at quite a high price tag in Europe… it promises good handling, but the seats are hard/tough and the ride is quite bumpy… typical of European ride…

    if Exora enters the Indonesian market, i cant see how it will lose to the Touran except for engine power… Typical of asian roads which could be very harsh, Exora would provide better comfort for the whole family… and at a cheaper price tag too… In msia, Exora is priced same as a CKD swift… but in Europe, a Touran is 2-3 times more expensive than the Swift… and thats a big difference in pricing level…[/quote]

    In Germany, the price of a Swift Sport 1600 is Euro 17700: http://www.suzuki-auto.de/auto/live/modelle/swift/sport/preise.html

    A Touran starts at Euro 18700: http://www.buddeautomobile.de/vw/vw_touran.html

    So the price of a Touran is 2-3 times more expensive than the Swift ?

  18. 4G63T DSM said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 8:59 pm

    [quote comment="237804"]Ha ha.. same story and lies again.

    We close our market and block FDI into the car industry?

    What about Toyota/Daihatsu owned Perodua? That’s a pretty big FDI. How much has it benefitted the nation? How much taxes did they pay? How much have they exported? Are we a production hub for any models? Are Perodua giving value for money to consumers?
    Did giving Toyota/Daihatsu a national car status (via P2) turn Malaysia into a mini detroit of the east? Keep dreaming…

    The P2 story is the reason why the Govt insists on Proton being locally owned.

    Is Proton protected when it has to go head to head with Toyota/Daihatsu owned P2 on a level playing field?[/quote]

    Do you really think P2 goes head to head with Proton…on a “level playing field”? We can only guess about the unpublished gentlemen agreements between them. What? P2 has difficulty coming out with larger rebadged Toyota cars? No 1.6L engines in the Daihatsu stables? P2 doen’t have the ability to produce a 1.6L sedan?

    I agree with you, P2 is pretty big FDI. Same with Naza. Why stop there?

    Why not invite all the big players?

    Why limit companies that only build for the local market? Why not open the market to those with larger markets that have the possibility of exports?

    Look, companies that want to invest will take all into consideration. A restrictive NAP is not the only reason why they don’t want to invest. A dropping level of cheap/skilled labour in comparison with other neighbours, and bumi requirements (or those that we don’t hear about) will really factor into why FDI is not coming in.

    The country itself is loosing FDI, not only in the automotive sector. Something is endemicaly wrong with how the country is run.

  19. tamannegara said,

    May 12, 2009 @ 11:46 pm

    First Thail, now is Indonesia, philipine is also trying to attract foreign
    auto maker to set up factory there.
    Malaysia is the only Asean country own a national brand car. But we are lag behind other in attractive major car maker to chose malaysia as their regional productio hub. of course is the best if we can has a national car industry , and at the same time become regional hub for foreign brand car. but due to our small domestic market ( is largest in asean for sedan), we can only chose either to had our very own brand natioanal car or become asean car assembly centre. only time will tell us we are choose the right path or not. one thing for sure we are paying high price for our car.

  20. BanyakMasukWorkshop said,

    May 13, 2009 @ 8:41 am

    [quote comment="237857"]
    The country itself is loosing FDI, not only in the automotive sector. Something is endemicaly wrong with how the country is run.[/quote]

    you got that right.

    but as for P2, and larger cars.. i know for certain its got nothing to do with P1. strategy comes from japan. they decide the model lineup for P2. technically, for every perodua sold, its a sale for them. so it would be in their own best interests, not to compete with their own larger engined cars.

  21. pekan said,

    May 17, 2009 @ 6:49 pm

    We will asssemble Polo and Passat in the near future. Possibly next year once the economic improved. The deal is set.
    (^_^)

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