Perodua and Daihatsu Motor Corporation Ltd of Japan today officially began construction of a new engine manufacturing plant here as part of their business expansion plan in the area of engine, engine components and parts sales. Expected to be completed and operational in the second half of 2016, this new engine manufacturing plant would be able to produce 140,000 engine units of various capacities on a 2 shift cycle per annum with an investment of about RM 600 million.
“This occasion is indeed very meaningful for Perodua as it signifies our confidence of growth in both domestic and global markets as well as our commitment in making Malaysia an automotive hub for the Asean region,” Perodua Chairman, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin said during the event.
The creation of a new engine plant will not only fulfil Perodua’s needs in the future but at the same time being able to supply and support other OEMs in the region with engine parts and components.
“We believe that the demand for engine parts and components will largely come from the ASEAN economic community or AEC which will see a single market within the Southeast Asian region in the very near future,” Tan Sri Asmat said.
Adding to this statement, Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said that the AEC offered tremendous up-side potential for nearly all sectors, particularly the automotive sector, as labour and goods could move about relatively freely in one of the world’s most dynamic economic zone. Based on the official website of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is an initiative by member countries to achieve economic integration by 2015. According to the website, the AEC will take on the following characteristics; the member nations will have a single market and production base; a highly competitive economic region; a region of equitable economic development; and a region fully integrated into the global economy.
“In short, the EAC will transform ASEAN into a region of free movement of goods, services, investment, skill labour and free flow of capital,” according to the ASEAN website.
