Porsche and Sime Darby have confirmed that a small-scale local assembly (CKD) operation will be set up in Malaysia, the first outside of Europe. The press release states that the vehicles will specifically match local requirements and will be available for Malaysia only.

Sime Darby Motors, the official distributor of Porsche models in Malaysia, will be handling the CKD operations in its Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah. The operations will commence from 2022 onwards.

“Every Porsche assembled by Sime Darby will go through the same rigorous standards and processes as its European counterparts. Quality will be a shared key commitment between Porsche AG and Sime Darby to all our customers, in assembling Porsche vehicles.

“We will continue our close engagement with Porsche AG to ensure that we meet the Porsche standard every step of the way,” Sime Darby Berhad Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson said.

The Inokom plant also makes various BMW and Mazda models but these are managed separately by BMW Group Malaysia and Mazda Malaysia respectively, with assembly work taking place at a separate facility within the Inokom campus.

No specific models were mentioned, though we’ve previously reported that the Porsche Cayenne is likely be the first model to be assembled outside Europe, followed by the Porsche Taycan.

Also read: A CKD Porsche Cayenne will be launched in Malaysia, CKD Taycan next

“Malaysia and the whole ASEAN is a region of great potential and we look forward to the first locally assembled models reaching our Malaysian customers next year,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche.

“As Porsche is moving into a new era of mobility, Malaysia and the ASEAN region are gaining an increasing importance. This step now is part of a long-standing initiative to keep pace with rapidly evolving customer and market demands.”

Also read: Will Malaysia be launching a CKD Porsche Macan?