Mercedes-Benz Malaysia celebrates Pekan plant’s 10th anniversary – 264 units of the S400L Hybrid produced

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Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s Pekan plant has produced 264 units of the Mercedes-Benz S400L Hybrid this year so far. The S400L Hybrid, which was announced to have a duty-free price of RM587,888 in May, has been flying off the shelves, with waiting lists extending to beyond a year so far.

Mercedes-Benz dealerships have been informing potential customers that all allocation of CKD packs to the Malaysian market have been snapped up to the end of 2015, which is when the duty-free incentives for CKD hybrids end. The price with full duty will be close to RM900k. Nevertheless, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) says it is working closely with its German counterparts to increase supply of the S400L Hybrid.

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“Malaysia is an important market for Mercedes-Benz and Daimler, and we are always looking for opportunities to enhance our presence in the country. The success of the S400L Hybrid is a prime example of the potential this country offers and this certainly helps us serve our customers better. We look forward to working closely with the government and authorities to enhance the automotive sector,” said MBM president and CEO, Roland Folger.

The Pekan plant celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. It is one of six Daimler Mercedes-Benz passenger car CKD production plants worldwide. It currnetly produces three passenger car models – the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class, along with Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi FUSO commercial vehicles. To date, the plant has produced over 34,000 cars and over 18,700 CVs.

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The plant was recently fitted with subassemblies and high voltage (HV) facilities to cater for the new S-Class. The commercial vehicle line also received an upgrade by relocating the body shop and frame assembly. MBM invested RM18 million for these latest upgrades.

“In line with our strategy, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia continues to invest not just in Pekan, but also in our business as a whole. It is certainly a reflection of the encouraging demand we continue to receive from the Malaysian market. Our priority is to our customers and we remain committed to delivering vehicles of the best quality and providing world-class service,” Folger added.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • 264 Buyers Crying on Aug 22, 2014 at 3:24 pm

    The 264 buyers are all crying now. Not all are super rich. Some are just high income earners just wanting to fullfill their dream.

    Why are they crying?

    Firstly, their insurance shoots up. For the insurance company to replace the car if it gets stolen, it has to now pay market value. That is RM900k. So, the buyer thinking his insurance will be based on RM588k gets a huge shock. Premiums now go up substantially. No matter how rich you are, when you pay double in premiums, you will feel it. Bear in mind again, majority are private buyers not company buyers and these private buyers, many of them are not super rich but well to do,

    Secondly, because MBM has no control or planning with the government, the price of this Hybrid has become yoyo. Nobody dare to touch this car in the 2nd hand market. Buyers wanting to sell this car will think 10 times before touching this car. The price is yo yo. Today you buy, it might either go up or down, or even further down. We don’t know. So general rule of 2nd hand market is stay away from Hybrids.

    Thirdly, parts go up in price substantially. If your base car goes up to RM900k, price of parts also will double. Your battery also will double in price. Everything doubles in price.

    MBM has done injustice to the above 264 buyers. They need to collectively sue MBM for misrepresenting the price to the public, giving the impression that the car will be forever RM588k. MBM will blame the government but the fault really lies with MBM.

    MBM should have planned well with the government and told buyers that once they cannot meet the quota, the price will shoot up to RM900K

    MBM also misreprsented to everyone saying it made inroads to give people this special price of RM588k. Now, they cannot meet demand. This clearly is a misrepresentation because many went to the showroom to be turned away telling that now, it has reverted back to RM900k.

    To the current buyers who are crying, I pity you. At least you have some money. Pity the Toyota Prius owner. He really will suffer, so will the Civic owner. His insurance, parts and RV will change completely.

    And most Hybrid owners bought their car to save on money and fuel. Now, the increase in insurance premiums alone will burn a hole in their pockets.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 76
    • Ng Zhi LIn on Aug 22, 2014 at 3:55 pm

      r u kidding me? my neighbour bought this car, and lemme tell u.. he is all smiles whenever he drives it (he used to drive honda accord)… I dont see yr analysis correlated with the 264 owners.. p.s. he promoted me to be a passenger of his car cause he always see me very Intrigued by his merc. and lemme tell ya.. It felt like I was on a private jet of the king of saudi arabia! damnnnnnn nice!!!! however my parents tought me to be thankful with what I have so I love my myvi still!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 42 Thumb down 2
      • Same L0rrr on Aug 23, 2014 at 7:29 pm

        Every hardworking Malaysian deserve a S400L.

        Why it will become so expensive after 2015, like the Prius now (RM213k)?

        Thanks to the almighty Proton and its high tax protection!

        Why don’t Proton start selling condom? Because PROTECTION always BEST!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 9
    • i am guessing u cant afford one.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 0
    • Titanium on Aug 22, 2014 at 4:22 pm

      You crying because you couldn’t snap one?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 0
    • hey, you are the same boy (or girl) who whined about the price of Prius a few pages back.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
    • BeemerFreak on Aug 22, 2014 at 5:14 pm

      This is in no fault of MBM. Only the pretentious government to blame. The other side promised duty free cars yet imbeciles still elected the current.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 7
    • OrangUtan on Aug 22, 2014 at 10:13 pm

      I love your analysis, I think it is time to upgrade to a horse. No petrol, no tax, no insurance, and they trim my grass.

      A hybrid between Donkey and Horse is the best.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 0
    • kzm (Member) on Aug 23, 2014 at 6:43 am

      What r u want to say actually? I don’t understand. Just make short comment. Ur comment is longer than the article.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
    • kadajawi (Member) on Aug 23, 2014 at 5:36 pm

      I guess you were too late? Or can’t afford.

      These 264 people are laughing all the way to the bank. If they want to sell the car, they can easily get more than they paid for it in the first place. They can make Toyota owners green with envy.

      “How much did you get back for your 1 year old Vios? Oh, 60k, and bought for 80k, not bad. I just sold my 1 year old car. Got back 140%…” Sure the Toyota owner will die.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • BrianXYZ on Aug 24, 2014 at 9:12 pm

      Why are you so concern about the 264 S-Class Hybrid buyers? It is their money and it is their right how they want to spend/waste their money. What is your problem with MBM anyway? If really they misrepresented some customers, so be it. I think they are smart enough not to offend their premium S-Class customers.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • shawal on Aug 22, 2014 at 3:30 pm

    “flying off shelves” …
    quite literally…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 1
  • MBM only allowed to produce / assemble 264 units only?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
  • Semi-Value (Member) on Aug 22, 2014 at 11:32 pm

    mercedes. best car in world.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 2
  • 264? The number of capable Malaysian is way beyond this figure. Pity those who have to wait for at least a year and pay RM899k for full duty. Thanks to our incompetent G. I guess when i wanna change, s400 petrol will do. Hybrid is even more expensive than petrol. What the heck.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2
  • assembled by malaysian. why not same with protons quality?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 3
  • kadajawi (Member) on Aug 23, 2014 at 5:37 pm

    When did they start production? How many can they produce per month then? That way we can sort of estimate how many will be produced until the incentives are over –> How many bookings there have been within the few weeks the car was available.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • How is working closely with german counterparts going to help us get the car at rm588k since there ia no more exemption of import duties on hybrid cars ?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
    • kadajawi (Member) on Aug 23, 2014 at 11:00 pm

      There is. Until the end of 2015. Which means if they can produce 1000 cars until the end of 2015, 1000 cars can be sold for 588k. If they can produce 10000 cars until the end of 2015, they can sell 10000 S classes for 588k.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • I’m not sure if the Pekan plant is operating 24/7 or not.

    If not, they really should – just make 3 shifts to ramp up S class production to satisfy as much market demand as possible.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • A6 Hybrid on Aug 25, 2014 at 10:53 am

    I book another hybrid car (S400L) after own A6 Hybrid. Going to enjoy the torque from 480 Nm to 620 Nm

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1
  • mascaretaker on Aug 27, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    car seller UK sell this hybrid car cost 80k pound ( RM424000 ).
    carseller Msia sell rm580k. This is bargain

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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