Assuming that the government doesn’t extend the current sales tax (SST) exemption for locally-assembled (CKD) cars any further, new car buyers in Malaysia have less than 3 months left to take advantage of discounted prices.

To qualify for the SST exemption, eligible cars must be registered no later than 31-December 2021. The problem however is that many manufacturers are facing disruption due to the due to the ongoing shortage in semiconductor parts.

For some popular models like a Perodua Myvi, even if you place your booking today you won’t be able to get your car before the SST exemption period expires.

Earlier today, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia launched the locally-assembled (CKD) A-Class Sedan and GLA. Both models were supposed to be launched much earlier but had been delayed due to MCO.

Also read: Priced from RM 220k, 2021 CKD Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan (V177) is launched in Malaysia

With only less than 3 months left and the fact that Mercedes-Benz’s operations in Europe is affected by the shortage in semiconductor parts, we asked if Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is still able to fulfill the projected demand for this year.

The short answer to that is yes, buyers who book the new CKD A-Class Sedan and GLA today will get their car within this year, and deliveries will begin next week. This also applies other CKD models like the GLC, GLE, E-Class, and S-Class.

Also read: CKD 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA (H247) launched in Malaysia, priced from RM 232k

Malaysian buyers will appreciate the fact that Mercedes-Benz’s headquarters in Stuttgart has decided to prioritize CKD operations in countries like Malaysia over production in Europe.

The reason to that is because logistics and parts supply planning for CKD operations is a lot more complex, requiring longer lead times than the usual CBU (fully imported) route that markets in the rest of the world use.

Thanks to this, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s plant in Pekan has enough parts to meet the projected demand in the near-term.

Vice-President Michael Jopp said, “The fortunate position for us in Malaysia right now is that our colleagues in Germany, our mother plant is trying to do their very best to safeguard the CKD pipeline. They know and we know that because of the complexity and the longer lead times, it will be even more challenging (in securing enough parts for CKD kits).

“So far we see very little interruption on CKD production. The biggest interruption right now is because of the lockdowns, and the all the delays we have is because of that. For the time being, we are safeguarded. We do see some effects on CBUs. We know that some CBUs headed towards Malaysia sometimes have delays, and sometimes certain equipment have to be removed but the overall impact on (sales) volume so far is fortunately limited.”