Sime Darby Motors and BMW Group Malaysia launched have officially opened the Sime Darby Auto Engineering (SDAE) Engine Assembly Facility in Kulim, Kedah, which will assemble three- and four-cylinder petrol engines, four-cylinder diesel engines as well as three- and four-cylinder petrol engines for plug-in hybrid vehicles, for the group’s range of locally-assembled vehicles.
The recently-introduced MINI Cooper S Countryman Sports will be the first model to receive the engines, before they will filter out to other locally-assembled models such as the BMW 330e, 530e, X5 xDrive40e, and 740Le, as well as the three-cylinder MINI Cooper S E Countryman. The newly established engine assembly facility resides on a six-acre plot with a built-up area of 8,500 sq m, at a total investment value of more than RM132 million by SDAE.
The three engines – the B48 2.0 litre turbo petrol, B47 2.0 litre turbo diesel and B38 1.5 litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engines are all produced on one assembly line, which currently outputs 12 units per day. This will ramp up to 40 units daily by July 2019 for an eventual production of 10,000 engines yearly, and the B48 is the first engine type from the plant to reach the vehicle assembly line in mid-May.
The engine plant features innovations such as EST tightening equipment, Dosing and Bonding Technology (Dobotech) equipment, engine engraving, engine oil filling, test machines for hydraulic valve play compensation, leak tests, and hot and cold testing – processes conducted before the engines are sent to the nearby assembly line.
Eventual assembly rate of engines here will be 10,000 engines per year (per shift), according to BMW Malaysia, and the new facility has employed an additional 60-person workforce for the local career market in the Kulim Hi-Tech area.
The new facility, alongside the assembly plant and the Regional Parts Distribution Centre in Senai, Johor will promote the exchange of technological know-how, and to develop a more innovative workforce in line with the transformative aspirations of the country, said the deputy secretary-general (Industry) of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Datin K. Talagavathi.
The mention of diesel engines is interesting, considering that BMW Malaysia no longer has any diesel models in its lineup – the last variant that was sold here, the 320d Gran Turismo, has already been discontinued. This means that the company is likely looking to introduce new oil-burning models soon.
Well done BMW
Interesting development.. Beneficial to the local kuli economy… But really hope BMW Malaysia can look into addressing the horrendous build quality of ckd x5 plug in hybrid….to the casual observer, both front fender, front bonnet and driver side door panel gaps do not line up, and even after sending car for rectification at BMW, the issue remains… Very, very shameful.
It’s not just the X5 but they have other lemon CKD models too with every other owner being the unlucky one. I could only nod in silence when the dealer technician and my sales rep telling me the difference in quality of a CBU compared to the CKD. Even the way the engine bonnet closes is different between the import and the locally assembled vehicle.
I concur. CKD BMWs have questionable build quality. The F30 had terrible interior build quality, rattles and plastic creaking everywhere. But to be fair, the G30 is a major step up in overall build quality, CKD or CBU wise. Of course, it must be noted that BMW is never ever known for their build quality. Audi still wins hands down.
Habisla Tomyam! Ini mesti salahan Tomyam got no national car ni!
Excellent news ! BMW did mention plans for local engine assembly some years back. Good to know that they went through with it.
From what I can recall, none of the major foreign players assemble engines here anymore. UMW Toyota gets their Vios engines from Perodua/Daihatsu (Perodua/Daihatsu also exports engines). Honda Malaysia does make CVJs (they export it too), but not whole engines. TCM Nissan used to assemble engines here (for the Sunny) decades back. CCB Mercedes-Benz used to assemble engines for the C- and E- in PJ, before they moved to Pekan (Mercedes engines are now fully imported from Germany).
As an honorary mention, Proton of course builds their S4P engine family (CamPro) locally, being the only car company in Malaysia to carry out the complete process, from R&D to casting, to assembly and testing.
It’s good to see BMW and Sime Darby invest in engine assembly, despite the odds. Unlike body assembly, engine assembly requires much more automation (robots). Like paint shops, engine assembly uses high precision practices, and tolerances are very strict. One small imperfection could manifest into serious engine failure some years down the road. Robots are the future in manufacturing. In ASEAN, Malaysia has the third highest number of active robots, after Singapore and Thailand.
Anyway, I wish BMW Malaysia all the best and hopefully, this latest investment will grant them more excise duty credits and lead to even lower prices for future BMW models.
As for Sime Darby, I hope they could also do something about their anaemic Ford division. Right now, Sime Darby isn’t even assembling the Ranger locally. It’s just too expensive because it’s a CBU model. Forget the Focus and Fiesta (both also CBU). A CKD Ranger will boost Ford sales noticeably.
About time they reintroduce the diesel engines and BMW Malaysia must have talked to the govt about making it an EEV too
I sincerely hope diesel makes a comeback. Their B47 Diesel engine is almost bullet proof and has proven to be more reliable than their petrol siblings namely the dreaded N20. The B47 gives better mileage and you don’t need to be prudent on it. Just step on the accelerator pedal as you please and feel the ‘JOY’
So is Malaysia is the preferred destination for continental manufacturers now? PSA, Renault, Volvo and now BMW has chosen Malaysia as their Forward Operating Base. Not to mention, even highly independent Mazda has chosen us to produce the CX5 for export. When you talk car assembly in ASEAN, Thailand or Indonesia will immediately pop up. So this seems to suggest that Malaysia being one of the only capable countries for high value and precision production and assembly. My 2 cents.