Supporting Malaysia's economy - Chery Malaysia to begin exports from Kulim plant in 2024
Sanjay · Jul 24, 2023 12:14 PM
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The locally-assembled (CKD) Chery Tiggo 8 Pro and Omoda 5 will both be exported from Malaysia beginning 2024, said Leo Chen, Country Director of Chery Malaysia.
Speaking in an interview with BFM 89.9, he said: "So right now, we just have 2 models. Current production [capacity] can only meet these 2 models production. With new models introduced, and export business to start, we will also look into expanding production capacity."
"Next year, we will start the exports," he continued. "All the factory facilities, and planning, are in progress right now."
Chery currently builds the two named models in Inokom's Kulim, Kedah facility that spans 200 acres. As of today, the plant currently builds 1,000 units per month, with a "step-by-step" increase in the works.
Concerning export activities, Chery plans to make Malaysia its regional Hub for Right-Hand Drive (RHD) vehicles for the Southeast Asian and Oceania markets.
Previously, the company announced an overarching plan to build up to 30,000 cars per year, both for the domestic and export markets. The company mentioned that in doing so, they'll have to introduce a third model, and hence the Tiggo 7 Pro and Omoda 5 EV being in the pipeline for us next year.
The Chery Group is China's biggest passenger vehicle exporter for the last 20 years. In 2022 alone they exported 451,337 cars (or 36% of the 1,232,727 Chery vehicles sold in that year), which also is the first time the Anhui-based marque breached the 1-million-unit barrier.
In total, the marque has 11.2 million global users that comprises 2.4 million units outside their native China. Chery’s cumulative export volume accounts for a fifth of the total export volume of Chinese vehicles during the same period.
Aside from the staggering figures, Chery is looking to further expand into other right-hand drive markets – Chen said that Thailand will be where the brand is heading to next.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
