As of October 1, 2021, Kawasaki Motors Malaysia (KMM) will cease distributing Kawasaki motorcycles in the local market. This decision was brought about by Kawasaki Heavy Industry‘s (KHI) decision to increase their equity participation in Malaysian motorcycle maker Modenas in April 2019.
Subsequently a division with regards to the distribution of Kawasaki motorcycles in Malaysia, where Modenas would assemble and distribute models below 650 cc while KMM continued to distribute large capacity motorcycles in the Kawasaki range was seen by KMM management as untenable. KMM has now been renamed KMSB Motors after a 33-year relationship with Kawasaki and will enter new business areas going forward.
For current owners of Kawasaki motorcycles in Malaysia, they are asked to await an announcement from KHI regarding issues pertaining to warranty claims, after sales, service and spare parts. A request for comment from Modenas was made and paultan.org we were informed an official announcement will be issued in due course.
UPDATE – October 1: Distributing arm of Modenas, Edaran Modenas Sdn Bhd (EMOS) has been appointed the new official distributor for the Kawasaki brand in Malaysia effective October 1. This appointment entails all Kawasaki products including whole vehicles, spare parts and accessories, and to provide customer support where warranty and recall activity is required.
For a transition period of six months, EMOS will be assisted by KMSB, and owners of Kawasaki motorcycles may still liaise with any Kawasaki dealer or stockist for parts and technical service enquiries.
Within this few years, it looks like kawasaki motors are looking to have multiple brands for their motorcycles.
Kawasaki unprecedentedly bought over Bimota, and for the first time Bimota was owned by a major motorcycle manufacturer.
Kawasaki has been a shareholder of modenas ever since it was established. With the Gurun plant even allocated a specific kawasaki factory code. It has assembled various Kawasaki motorcycles before, like the Super KIPS KRR150.
An advantage of Modenas-badged motorcycle is the status of national motorcycle, with the lower duties and special allowences. Should give modenas-badged kawasaki motorcycles a more competitive price compared to its rivals. Will we see a much stronger lineup from modenas? Will we finally see a worthy answer to the yamaha Y16 from modenas?
Hopefully a fresh new start for modenas-badged kawasaki motorcycles in a very near future.
Modenas can rebadge the sub-250cc bikes. Don’t rebadge the bigger cc bikes..I’m sure Kawa knows fans will not be pleased.
What a way to ruin a long term big brand.
This has been in the works for a long time and still no one can work out how this is going to be.
KHI could very much just have left Kawasaki Malaysia alone and just let Modena’s do it’s own rebadging, (which is basically what they have been doing since the dawn of history) very much in line with what CFMOTO has been doing with Thier Kawasaki based bikes.
Looks like we won’t be seeing the new 650RS anytime soon then.
Err… CFmoto has no ‘Kawasaki-based bike’. To my knowledge, they only bought the tooling for the 1st gen ER6 engine from Kawasaki when the Japa phased it out… and that was it. There is no ‘re-badging’ of any sort.
if it’s poorly executed on the warranty claims and after sales service, Kawasaki will have a bad reputation.
So now the question is, when will the ZX-25R launch here at our shores?
Whatever the arrangement is, they better keep the Kawasaki nameplate on the 250cc & above bikes. Rebadging of these is a no-no! Modenas can rebadge the sub-250cc bikes..