Chery Automobile partners Sime Darby for local assembly in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Chery Automobile Co Ltd has appointed Sime Darby Bhd’s subsidiary, Inokom Corporation Sdn Bhd, as its local assembler for Chery vehicles in Malaysia.

Chery Corporate Malaysia country director Leo Chen said the partnership with Sime Darby is aimed at strengthening its presence in emerging markets within Southeast Asia which have seen encouraging growth. Chery exported more than 450,000 vehicles in 2022.

"It is a very exciting and thrilling partnership. It creates a valuable experience in the automotive sector across the value chain, which would make this a great partnership to grow together," he told reporters at the Malaysia Autoshow 2023 in Serdang, Selangor, today.

The company would like to expand its right-hand drive segment aggressively in Malaysia this year and is looking at having 70 showrooms nationwide, of which 30 are already under renovation.

The Sime Darby collaboration to locally assemble Chery vehicles is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2023 at Sime Darby's motor vehicle production and assembly facility, Inokom, in Kulim, Kedah which will be expanded.

It was reported that Chery would start assembling Tiggo 8 Pro and Omoda 5 in June followed by their launch in July.

Meanwhile, Sime Darby group chief executive officer Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson said in a statement that the trust given it underscores the group’s highly qualified and competent Malaysian talent and its ability to provide meaningful value to partners.

"We look forward to being part of Chery's journey of continuous innovation. The assembly portfolio is a key element in our growth strategy for Sime Darby Motors and this partnership supports this," he said.