Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd aims to increase its production volume in line with sales, and has targeted to produce at least one new model locally every year, starting from 2012.
President and Chief Executive Officer Roland S. Folger said the luxury car market in Malaysia has actually become stronger, with the company enjoying an average 35 per cent growth in sales from 2007.
“There is a strong demand from this market. In my opinion, people now are willing to spend on high-end quality products.
“We also foresee that the market will continue to be strong.
“It gives us reassurance in what we are planning for, constructing and investing at the moment,” he told reporters at the recent Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Drive and Pekan Plant Tour.
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has delivered close to 7,000 vehicles for the year ended 2010, which was an all-time high, since the brand’s introduction in Malaysia 58 years ago.
For sales until September this year, the company has managed to deliver 4,197 units of passenger cars, 11 per cent higher than the same period of last year.
“Our first quarter result (April 2011) was the best first quarter performance since 2003,” Roland said.
In order to achieve its target, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is also looking to increase its staff at the Pekan plant in Pahang by 10 per cent, from about 1,000 currently.
The Vice President of its production plant, Sebastian Streuff said more than 21,000 premium vehicles had rolled off the Pekan assembly line and delivered to customers, since the start of operations in 2007.
“Since operations began, our production volume has increased significantly, calling for more automated functions within the line to meet the demand of customers.
“As of September this year, we had already surpassed our total production volume of 2010 in having produced 4,177 units, compared to the 4,173 units for that full year,” he added.
– Bernama
C. Khor
CJMY
