The Volkswagen brand now has a new custodian on our shores – Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS) is now the official distributor of Volkswagen vehicles in Malaysia, as Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM). Leading the new charge are the company’s two managing directors, Alin Tapalaga (pictured, left), who oversees brand and human resource operations, and Florian Steiner, who takes care of aftersales, information technology and finance.
“VPCM is fully committed to the future growth of the Volkswagen brand amidst the highly competitive automotive landscape in Malaysia. Customers can also rest assured that we will be increasing the CKD model line-up, and will continue to import CBU models into the country,” said Tapalaga.
“Customer satisfaction remains a priority to us, and we recognise the importance of a strong relationship with our dealer partners in order to achieve this. Together, we will continue to explore new ways to further enhance our customers’ experience,” Steiner added.
To that end, VPCM has introduced a five-year, manufacturer-backed warranty for all Volkswagen cars bought from September 1 onwards – replacing the current 2+3 coverage. VPCM will also be launching the facelifted Jetta and the B8 Passat within the next few months.
Porsche Holding Salzburg, the largest automotive distributor in Europe, is a holding company which is actually an entity separate from the famed Stuttgart auto manufacturer. Founded in 1974, Porsche Holding was installed as VW importer in Austria, and its automotive business has diversified since, including financing and retail in its portfolio.
Volkswagen Group Malaysia (VGM), meanwhile, will be concentrating its business interest in Malaysia on the Audi brand as well as its vehicle assembly operation in Pekan. It will get a new managing director, Jeffrey Dehate, from October 1, replacing current head Armin Keller.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Passat > Mazda6, 508, Audi A4, 330e Series
Passat is a bangsat!
2 + 3 : the last 3-year insurance-based warranty in any brands bought, from any insurance companies in USA, is worse than the warranty provided by the brand Electron.
Power window 89 days is nothing compared to this kind of warranty, because the waiting time may be a sleeping ‘8’ figure.
Welcome manufacturer warranty for VW.
I applaud VW’s efforts in Malaysia, but sorry to say, most Malaysians don’t forgive easily. If they did, Proton would be no.1 (in sales) again.
Most Malaysians just want a cheap, reliable, Japan or Euro badged car to show off to their family and friends. If possible, it must have good FC, look good, have LED DRL / spotlights, a lot of chromed stuff and RV should be good too.
Nowadays, more and more people want ESC and 6 airbags… but believe me, a lot of these so-called ‘safety conscious’ people still don’t wear seatbelts (at the back especially), don’t use child seats, don’t follow the speed limit, hog the right lane, potong line, don’t signal, miss/skip service checkups, text and drive and have no sense of courtesy on the roads.
Good luck VW, you guys are going to need it.
It’s the P2 Bezza every family needs!!
When Aero said “most Malaysians”, I don’t think he/she did a survey and came up with a percentage. It’s just his/her feeling only.
The market is free. One can buy whatever one desires and can afford. So I think there’ll always be a niche for any brand that has enough support.
As a VW owner, I do hope this development will translate into improved customer satisfaction. Good luck VPCM!
dont forget they drive on 4 bold tyres or 4 different tyre brands on each corner!
“Get stung once, deep pain forever”
Wooooooooo
I cannot agree more than whatever you just commented. While I beg to differ on ‘Most Malaysians’ (considering a lot of ppl still Wahhhhhh VW wor), I 100% agree on the hypocritical nature of ppl when it comes to safety.
Give them ABS they ask VSC. Give them VSC they ask BSW. Give BSW they ask Autonomous Braking. All whilst not realizing that it begins from the driving/occupancy nature firstly! So while YES safety should not be compromised by automotive manufacturers, the grounds of rallying for it is just too…hypocritical at this stage.
Basic safety features: rigid cell in all directions, crumple zones, good side impact bars, seat belts with pretensioners, collapsible steering, ABS, EBD, BA, reliable 6 airbags plus ESP and lastly whiplash-lessening headrests.
Ask for more only in luxurious marques.
It would be much to ask for AEB etc., sure. But ESP and 6 airbags have been standard on cars overseas for 15 (!) years now. A bog standard, entry level spec C segment Citroen (so an affordable car within the segment in the first place) from 2002 has ESP and 6 airbags. Shortly thereafter such features were standard even on B segment and then A segment cars. Yet in Malaysia…
Your wrote this like words rolling out of your mouth not unlike a gangsta rapper. You definitely must be one of those you’re trying to profile. Excellent job, keep it up.
U forgot: stop in middle of busy road to catch pokemon. Again and again.
The only thing Malaysians ever forgive and forget was the Japanese occupation. Everything else they’ll remember forever.
And the after-effects of Tsunami 2011, with massive radioactive leakage in Fukushima still going on, with potential radioactive contaminations of Japanese products.
Some (a few) VW owners seem to display aggressive driving behavior when they come across other German cars; Merc, BMW, Audi, on the road. Ever notice the Golf GTI tailing you barely six inches from your tail? Is this a manifestation of an inferiority complex.
Spot on Aero. We will complain to hell and back about the lack of advanced safety equipment and driving aid but fail miserably to make sure we have brain and sensibility in our heads before we grab the steering wheel.
Okay, but will they keep selling the same POS?
just rebooting the franchise… unfortunately.. same ole sweet talk. This time they need to deliver first. Talk later.
So now the wire harness cost how much? Still 50k?
No more VW car for me…….
VGM better rename become AGM else very confusing.
Brilliant move… Its damage control for VW.. So should I hold my buying of a new car until the release of Passat ? is it worth the wait ???
Better don’t. The service centre tea lady recognised me and said ” see you again”. I don’t think you want to end up like me.
How about better commitment in reliability to begin with?
They did a few things to fix the issues. For example they had problems with the timing chain in the Golf Mk 6 TSI engines. The engines were modified for the Mk 7 and now spot timing belt.
DSG is a must for cars in Europe. People buy either manual transmissions or DSG, there is a dislike for torque converters which are associated with those terrible 4 speed gearboxes that Toyota loves to use, and to a lesser degree for CVT.
Since the European market is much more important than the Malaysian market, they’ll focus on what sells there. VW sold more cars in Germany in 2015 as were sold by all brands in Malaysia in the same time period. Installing a gearbox that will sell a few more units in Malaysia, but leads to a significant drop in sales in Europe, doesn’t make sense.
So it’s true. DSG isn’t suitable for our climate. Europeans can’t be loving DSG if it gives them the same headaches that Malaysian owners of VW cars face.
Nah. Germans also complained about how unreliable DSG is. Yet I guess to them the benefits are more important, like efficiency and performance. Also, I suppose the problems are history, and units these days are better.
Yes what you said makes sense. But vw is also a global brand making cars for the global market hence they should at least meet the needs of different geographies, if not at sales at least on after sales areas. As for me, no more vw.
I absolutely agree in terms of after sales, VW generally has issues with that, not just in Malaysia, and after sales matters everywhere.
As for having a version with torque converters… that wouldn’t be a terrible idea, after all they are using the MQB system, which is a bit like Lego. You can mix and match, and MQB components can be used in all sorts of cars, so they only have to develop one torque converter gearbox that can be used across a large variety of cars and engines, for markets that prefer torque converters. Say one that suits cars up to 150 hp… if you want more power, you’re probably into a more sporty drive too, and then a DSG is a better choice.
It could be an issue for the marketing department, but I’m sure they can come up with an explanation why they offer a torque converter next to their supposedly superior DSG. After all, many CVT gearboxes offer a fake gear mode, despite technically making no sense… it’s less efficient, slower, jerkier, … but customers want it that way.
TOYOTA Japan
It is high time u get a new distributor.
UMW has failed to deliver,being overtaken by Honda Malaysia,in sales.
There are hundreds of capable bumi distributors out there(including Insaf John),all dripping wet with saliva.
Now this German brand is changing hands here,why not Toyota?
Come on, Toyota Japan…u want explosive sales?
Ditch UMW.It is high time.
IT IS NOW!!! We ,Toyota fanboys will want a change,including Sam Loo.
The UMW group is in BIG trouble now,due to their exposure to Oil n Gas.
Play safe,ditch UMW.U never regret.
Until today , the new engine and cvt gearbox for the updated Vios never arrived on our shore. They are just interested in selling Hilux.
After so long u angkuh tell customers buy ur unsafe junks or leave, now u begging TMC to gip better models after kena thrashed at all segments in all price ranges.
Well, at least u still have a sliver of humility to drop ur angkuhness and willing to grovel. Thats a gud start.
What do you want the new distributor to do? What should UMW do to redeem itself? Offer better safety? That would increase the manufacturing cost of the cars. But they can’t raise prices any further, so it means less profit. They are currently maximizing profits by offering the bare minimum that will still gets sold in big numbers. If they improve safety, profits go down, but will sales go up? Will sales go up enough to make up for the increase in manufacturing cost? I doubt it. Certainly UMW does. And a new distributor may see it the same way.
You kerja UMW ka?
I know you are very knowledgeable about cars but even
distributors? moreover you are not even in Malaysia.lol
May be one of the option is to omit the ding-dong auto this-that, and add essential safety features like 6 airbags plus ESP.
DVD in a low-range car for what ???
Cheap to implement, and customers want it. No idea why… my car can play DVDs, I’ve only used it once, cause I was curious if it works.
UMW isn’t run by fools. They will look at what customers demand, and offer that. Customers demand safety, they will provide safety. Customers demand flashy HUs, body kits and alloy rims? They provide that. Just look at sales figures, it proves them right.
Proton offers safety… poor sales, and people don’t mind buying the lower spec cars that lack the safety. Perodua offers similar cars, but instead of safety goes for looks… and people buy those, and even spend for higher specs even though they add nothing that improves the car, makes it safer.
toyota has been no 1 in non-national sales for 20 years. only last year Honda took top spot.
toyota japan had the intention to take over toyota distributorship in malaysia but with UMW doing very well in that area TMC had to agree it cannot do anything.
what it got instead was a dealership – the 4S branch in SS15 shah alam known as UMW Toyotsu actually belongs to them. nothing more.
I don’t think it will matter anymore. They have already written themselves off.
Is it going to be old wine in a new bottle or new wine in an old bottle? LOL.
Why so double standard? 5 years manufacturer warranty is good and of course welcomed. However, when you look at China which is getting 10 years transmission warranty , how come we don’t get the same treatment like China ?
Volkswagen cars are not cheap in M’sia. There are plenty of choices here. Back in those days Vw was the one who introduced small cc turbo engines to M’sia. Today the Japanese are catching up fast. You don’t treat your customers seriously, soon you will be booted out from M’sia market.
Agreed.
However, you doesn’t really need the warranty if you consider to modify all the faulty parts, transmission and engine.
You can only selvage you reputation by upgrading your products durability.
Old wine in old bottle…only new label!
China gets 10 yrs warranty laaa
Germany gets 2 years. If you want more, need to pay extra. And it’s 2 + 0 warranty. Not 2 + 3 like in Malaysia so far. After 2 years you’re screwed if anything happens.
Kia on the other hand offers 7 years.
Shall have removed completely the management team of VGM. Doing more damages than achievements while being a so called distributor of VW in Malaysia. Shame on them.
Good damage control by PHS in implementing 5yrs unlimited manufacturer warranty rather than current 2+3. Need more effort in educating and spot check the dealers in term of managing after sales as the current service level below par.
Let’s see what PHS able to do to clean up the huge trail of shits left behind by the previous “jokers”!
Well, after VW, bye bye to Audi brand in Malaysia!
PHS & VGM need to do a complete clean up of the whole working force employed in VGM. Too much “NATO” (No Action Talk Only) personnel in VGM.
Dei, how about Honda, Toyota jokers? They also give 2+3 and furthermore labour has to pay, maintenance also pay etc etc.. Hehehe
One easy fix would be to have a complaint department any customer can go to, if they feel unfairly treated. And to tell SCs to be more lenient with warranty claims.
Having the DSG issues is bad enough, but then having the SCs be jerks about it and sometimes even reject to fix it? That’s poison. How much sales have they lost due to that attitude? Maybe it would have been more profitable to just replace the gearbox, no questions asked. And why weren’t they able to stock enough spare parts? It’s not like they couldn’t have foreseen the issues after one after another customer popped up. At that point, just ship a ton of gearboxes to Malaysia. Just in case. When something needs to be replaced with my Renault, I only once ever heard the words “oh we need to order that from France… will take a while”. They tell me the part is in KL and it should be there in a few days, or even tomorrow. Renault, who sells in much smaller numbers!
There is an example… Mercedes introduced a new diesel engine in Europe a while back… it was a massive failure. These engines were so unreliable, they’d make VW look like Toyota. The engines kept blowing up. What did Mercedes do? Replace the engines. Quickly. Quietly. No questions asked. Turned out a part from a supplier was bad. They fixed it. No discussion with the customers. The story never blew up, customers apparently didn’t get mad, and they kept buying the cars.
Where is the new Tiguan?? Please stop it already with this old dying outdated lineup :(
Excellent! Porsche Holding Salzburg was founded by Ferdinand Porsche’s daughter…. Let’s get in on!
Great news. If got budget, the new Passat 2.0 would be a good option.
way over-complicated structure and starts to appear that VW is tying to ring fence VW from itself !
VW can kiss my anus and make me horny. Because we ‘love’ you.
buy VW at your own risk. Dont say nobody warned you when your VW stuck at the SC, as useless as a brick.
Please introduce manual transmission VW in Malaysia!
No wonder their promised on follow up about the faulty part gone into the air, even after i sent them email to remind them. The result is, they being replaced! they deserved it
Reason for delay on warranty faulty part replacement is due to the 2+3warranty. Dealers no longer replaced the faulty parts under warranty immediately due to slow and some claims rejected by insurance comp (remember, the bal 3yrs warranty is covered under warranty and not from manufacturer).
Due to this, all VW dealers start giving excuse no replacement parts available and require delivery from S’pore which take another week to arrive.
VGM shall have discuss with the insurance comp to find resolution (they may done it)or come out with a quick fix as it not only frustrated the customers but also the dealers as faulty cars keep piling up in their stockyard which in return translate as a cost to the dealer. Instead of de-fuse the fire that keep burning their ‘butt’, the Customer Care Dept joined the bandit by adding fuel; slow replying cust complaint and treating customer as their “slave” with the “Tidak Apa” Attitude..
“To rebuild your glory and reputation is more harder than building a new empire”
I’m a VW Beetle owner yes i did had my DSG problem once but was replaced in 2 weeks because of parts coming from overseas, but other than that everything is fine since then. I don’t know what problem other VW owner are facing but so far my experience with the SC is ok maybe i’m lucky i dont know. Look, VW have been in MY for only a short period of time if you compare to other brands don’t except things to be on par with them in such a short time, I can see they are tying to improve so that’s a plus.
VW should have that gearbox in Malaysia. In storage. It should take them 2 days to replace, not 2 weeks. It is not an obscure problem that no one could predict or expect, and it is a part that is serious enough to leave the car grounded.
In Malaysia I drive a Renault. The only part they ever needed to order was the pump for the windscreen washer. Non crucial, and unlikely to spoil. Everything else Tan Chong keeps in stock. Takes a few days at most to reach the SC. Plus my SC will happily let me know what parts are needed and have no issue installing parts I bring along. Original, OEM, … whatever.
Btw., I drive a VW in Germany, and need a new part. Cover for the ventilation system on the passenger side. It takes them almost a week to get the part. In Germany. Not very far from where my car was actually built… less than 100 km. What are they doing? Sending someone to walk there to fetch the part? Now it isn’t crucial or urgent, so whatever, but still.
Strangely I did not read any of the new directors taking over the sales portfolio. Wonder who’s doing that job ? Vgm? And another new MD there? Must a record number change of head honchos so far. Anyone remembers the previous heads? I’ll start with the Chinese dude whom I remember came from vw China. Who’s next? This can be a fun little contest for our memories.
I own a Passat CC 2011. Beautiful car. However, will never buy a VW again in my life. Dealing with VW and their service centres especially the ones operated by Federal auto was a nightmare. I have been VW brand “ambassador ” for the wrong reason. Spare parts are extremely expensive. Eg 4 absorbers can cost 14k and not durable as well.
Hope its not too late too little VW. Takes a long time to establish rep but just an instant to lose it. Good luck.
V…. i say men..
its was made in India…
made in India