Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) has announced plans to export vehicles to Vietnam and the Philippines this year as part of efforts to transform Malaysia into an electric vehicle hub. Last year, the company began sending cars to Indonesia with the Swedish brand’s return to the country (through PT Leading Vision Otomotif) – Thailand has been on its export list for some time now.
“Volvo Car Malaysia’s ambition towards an all-electric Malaysia is steadily becoming a reality. Our assembly plant here in Malaysia plays an important role in our electrification ambition as we bring our electric vehicles to two more ASEAN countries – Vietnam and the Philippines. The exportation of our locally assembled electric vehicles is one of our many steps to propel Malaysia becoming a hub for electric vehicles in the ASEAN region,” said Charles Frump, managing director of VCM.
At present, both the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric and C40 Recharge Pure Electric are locally assembled (CKD) in Shah Alam, with the former being the first to be launched in March last year – the C40 arrived later in December.
These EVs are produced by Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia, which is the country’s oldest and longest-running vehicle assembly plant – it was previously known as Swedish Motor Assemblies from 1967 until the early 2010s before becoming a subsidiary company of the Volvo Car Corporation. It should be noted that VCM was first premium car company to offer a full range of CKD plug-in hybrid vehicles and the first to CKD EVs in the country.
The company already said it is targeting for 75% of its sales to come from the Recharge Pure Electric line-up by 2025, and to become a fully electric car company by 2030. The EX90 has been hinted to our market and will likely be made available in the near future.
Another initiative is the introduction of an online sales platform that enables customers to directly make a purchase with the company and securely make their payments online. Frump explained previously that customers prefer to buy cars online and appreciate the transparency as well as trust to directly deal with the manufacturer, while also working together with existing dealer partners.
VCM closed 2022 with a record of 3,194 sales, which represents a 43% increase from the previous year and a seventh consecutive year of sales growth.
LOL since when Volvo cars are made in Malaysia? Lols! The keyword is assembled not made larrbaaaaaaang..Learn to use the correct term mah don’t create misinformation lar.. =))
Volvo cars of recent years had been nothing short of good looking. My next car must just be a volvo!
They should bring in polestar, lynk&co and zeerk
It is pity how our government has treated Volvo like a second class (from business point of view) when the company can bring more high level jobs and salaries to Malaysians, and if given governmental support it can become a hub in SEA. We did the opposite. In the past, top civil servants and GLCs & even MNCs were accorded with Volvos.