In conjunction with Volkswagen Malaysia’s nine year anniversary, we were brought on an exclusive 360° brand experience comprising ‘Assembly – To –Drive’ where they enjoyed a drive tour using all four locally assembled Volkswagen models, of which are the Passat, Jetta, Polo Sedan and Polo Hatchback and visited the Automotive Assembly Plant in Pekan, Pahang for the first time.
Volkswagen Malaysia’s Managing Director Mr. Armin Keller, Marketing Director Ms. Martina Berg, and Volkswagen Pekan Plant Manager Mr. Bruno Torres, welcomed the guests alongside Mr. Shamsuddin Mohamed Yusof, CEO of Hicom Automotive Manufacturer Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
“The Pekan plant is part of our long term strategy for sustainable growth and expansion in Malaysia. This plant is a key milestone for us, as it enabled us to produce affordable German engineered vehicles for Malaysians. Additionally, we have created highly qualified job opportunities here,” said Keller.
Established in 2012, the assembly plant is the first Volkswagen plant in Malaysia. About 589 people are employed at Pekan exclusively in the Volkswagen Operation, having produced about 10000 units of the Polo Hatchback, Polo Sedan, Jetta and Passat models in 2014. The RM1.6 billion plant started vehicles production in 2012.
During the inaugural visit, dubbed “Volkswagen Werkstour”, which translates to “Factory Tour” we were brought to the production area of the plant to witness the Laser Welding System. This state of the art technology joins the car’s roof to the body sides in one continuous go for a high quality finish and better sound proofing. The plant is also the world’s only automotive assembly line capable of putting together four different models of cars on a single Body Shop line using the exclusive VW Framer equipment.
According to Bruno Torres (Volkswagen Pekan Plant Manager), “Volkswagen is at the forefront of automotive innovation, leading the charter on developing an extensive range of world-class products and models. Here in Malaysia, we set a high benchmark consistent with the Das Auto concept when producing cars locally.”
The Das Auto concept, which means ‘The Car’, encompasses anything and everything about a car. For Volkswagen, a car is more than just a car and is an embodiment of German engineering, innovation, technological superiority while being environmentally friendly. Currently, Volkswagen offers 15 models from its portfolio in Malaysia, four of which are locally assembled.