Sime Darby subsidiary Inokom is reportedly in talks with Jaguar Land Rover for the local assembly of selected models in the country, according to sources as reported by The Edge Markets. At present, all Jaguar Land Rover products on sale in Malaysia are fully imported (CBU) units.
The latest vehicle launched by Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia in the country is the I-Pace which made its local debut yesterday, the fully electric vehicle arriving in two variants priced from RM460,800 to RM498,800. Both versions pack a 400 PS/696 Nm dual-motor electric powertrain with a 90 kWh battery pack, enabling a 0-100 km/h run in 4.8 seconds and a maximum range of 470 km (WLTP) on a full charge.
From the Land Rover brand, the most recent to arrive in Malaysia is the fifth-generation L460 Range Rover SUV that was launched here in February in standard wheelbase (SWB) guise with the sole option of a 4.4 litre petrol V8 powertrain, priced from under RM2.5 million.
“Sime Darby Motors is a partner of choice for some of the world’s leading brands, giving our customers access to a network of world-class products and services. That being said, we are always on the lookout for new partners, even more so as global economic prospects take a turn for the better. We are also always looking to forge stronger relationships with our existing partners,” Sime Darby Motors wrote in response to a query by The Edge Markets.
Separately, Inokom is also understood to be finalising contract assembly negotiations with Chery, as well as planning to increase to local assembly (CKD) output of vehicles for Porsche.
The German sports car brand first announced CKD operations in Malaysia in August 2021, which was for commencement in 2022, and the 2022 Porsche Cayenne in base model guise for Malaysia became the first from the German marque to be produced outside Europe.
At present, Inokom assembles vehicles for brands including BMW, MINI, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda and Porsche. Sime Darby controls more than 51% of Inokom, with a 51% stake held through its 100% owned subsidiary Sime Darby Motors, while other shareholders of Inokom are Bermaz Auto (29%), Hyundai Motor Company (15%) and Sime Darby Hyundai (5%), according to The Edge Markets.
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But with inokom logo…
I can understand if Audi wants to CKD their vehicles here but JLR? Makes sense for ASEAN market as a whole like what Porsche did.
correct. Asean and Asia Pacific (Japan, Australia, NZ). otherwise it doesnt make that much sense.
of course, by sharing the plant capacity with other car brands (bmw, kia, mazda, hyundai) means productions costs will be low. but still – how many units JLR sold in a month?
The usual chicken & egg situation… Hope for the best for them.
If we had honoured asean free trade agreement for cars. Those assembled locally will be taxed similarly as local assembled vehicles in the other 5 primary asean countries. But becayse we did not due to national car protection, the other asean countries imposed penalties for our locally assembled cars. Otherwise we can treat markets of thailand, Indonesia and philippines like local market if afta for cars had gone ahead unhindered which makes economy of scale feasible.
Lets our neighbours get the ‘mainstream’ brands. Let us have Porsche, JLR and soon Mercedes EQ will be assemble in Pekan
Same like bmw & audi
first. those cars themselves are not cheap. even in UK where they were manufactured.
secondly. the heavy import tax that applies to CBU cars outside Asean (Europe, Japan).
and third. lets not blame Sime Darby and Sisma when they want fat margin by selling these cars. which are just beautiful creation in automotive world.
Should CKD the 911
Should CKD BMWs
Should also CKD BMW i Models