PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Bhd and Porsche have jointly announced the expansion of Porsche’s assembly facility at Inokom, Sime Darby’s motor vehicle production and assembly facility in Kulim, Kedah.
The local assembly facility has been expanded to 11,000 sq m to accommodate the increased capacity and introduction of a new assembly line for a second model variant, the plug-in hybrid Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid Coupé. The new model variant is the first locally assembled Porsche to be exported to the Thailand market.
Sime Darby Group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson said, “This is a significant milestone for us at Sime Darby together with our partner Porsche, in unlocking new opportunities in the Asean region while affirming the capabilities of our highly skilled local talents. We remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering product consistency that meets the discerning demands of Porsche customers, expanding beyond domestic market to our neighbouring country, Thailand.”
The local assembly facility for Porsche was the first of its kind outside of Europe when it was successfully opened in 2022.
Yesterday, the local assembly facility had rolled out two generations and more than 2,000 units of Porsche’s iconic sports car for five – and it is now ready for its next phase with the assembly of its first PHEV variant and export into Thailand.
Porsche AG member of the executive board for production Albrecht Reimold said: “Porsche broke new ground when it established a local assembly facility in Malaysia in 2022. Since then, we have achieved many significant milestones, for example when more than 2,000 locally assembled Cayennes found new homes with Malaysian families just two years after assembly commenced. Today, we prepare for the future by considerably enhancing our site in Kulim, making sure that this first regionally exported Cayenne fulfils our customers’ demands and expectations.”
