This will be the first of many automotive investments leaving Malaysia.
As our guardians of the automotive industry ‘pretend’ to be working and keep signing numerous MOU’s, the global automotive community is slowly losing faith in our country and they seem more interested in investing in Indonesia, Thailand and even land scarce Singapore.
Leaving Malaysia
Just recently the Asia & Pacific Regional Headquarters of Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in Malaysia which has its corporate office in Jalan PJU 7/5, Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, decided to close and move their operations to Jakarta.
This means jobs lost for Malaysians working in this office and also loss of investment for Malaysia as Indonesia provides clear and defining tax incentives for future planning and investment. Yes, the Indonesian population is much larger than Malaysia’s but with a continued undefined car tax system (customized system), the need to invest in Malaysia becomes less appealing and our neighbours are taking advantage of this.
Please note that the Hyundai sales, service and warranty business will CONTINUE in Malaysia under Hyundai Sime Darby and they will continue to introduce new models when they arrive from the new Hyundai Singapore and Indonesian factories in 2022. Meanwhile rest assured your Hyundai vehicle in Malaysia will be very well looked after.
Investing With Our Neighbours
In November 2019, Reuters reported that Hyundai Motor will be investing a sizeable amount in Indonesia as it gears up its presence in ASEAN. An investment of RM6.42 billion was agreed for an assembly plant with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles for the Indonesian domestic market, with plans to expand to 250,000 units a year for regional exports.
Hyundai Motor Co also recently announced a RM1.22 billion plan to make 3,000 electric cars a year in Singapore. This is why the sales of the Hyundai IONIQ hybrid has ended in Malaysia and we will need to wait for the all new IONIQ electric (EV) to be imported from Singapore in 2022 for sale to Malaysians.
Together this is an easy RM7.64 billion investment loss for Malaysians and thousands of jobs. This is just from Hyundai Motor and not including all the other EV related factories that are being setup in Thailand and Indonesia.
New IONIQ EV
The 2020 new IONIQ nameplate will be a range of pure EV vehicles for the region. Hyundai will be launching a range of numerically named EVs under the new brand, with the even numbers used for sedans and the odd numbers for SUVs.
The first model under the IONIQ brand will be the IONIQ 5 midsize CUV that will launch in early 2021. IONIQ 5 is based on the concept EV ‘45’, which Hyundai unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) 2019 in Frankfurt as a homage to its very first concept car.
In 2022, Hyundai will introduce IONIQ 6 sedan, which is based on the company’s latest concept EV ‘Prophecy’, unveiled in March; followed by IONIQ 7, a large SUV in early 2024. Prophecy’s iconic exterior design is characterized by its aerodynamic silhouette of perfect proportions.
Hyundai Assembly
In Malaysia, Hyundai has a 15 percent equity interest in Inokom Corp Sdn Bhd, an auto assembler which is 51 percent-controlled by Sime Darby Bhd. Hyundai had come in as a shareholder in the late 1990s and the IONIQ hybrid, Tucson and Santa Fe were assembled at this facility.
Hyundai Future
Hyundai is far behind its Japanese rivals in Southeast Asia. Research company LMC Automotive forecast a 4 percent year-on-year decline in total vehicle sales in the ASEAN region in the fourth quarter, partly due to the economic slowdown in Thailand and Indonesian due to Covid-19.
ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore are expected to see combined vehicle sales grow to 4.49 million units in 2026, from 3.16 million in 2017 and Hyundai wants to tap into the growing sales volume.
