Perodua unveils $520m expansion plan

Perodua unveils $520m expansion plan

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's second national car maker Perodua yesterday unveiled a 1.3-billion-ringgit (US$520 million) five-year expansion plan to boost production and enhance its market share.

Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn. Bhd. (Perodua) managing director Abdul Rahman Omar said the program included the establishment of a second plant and a research and development building complete with test facilities.

"Hopefully with the research and development in place, we can produce our own car model by the year 2001," Abdul Rahman was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.

An expansion of production lines at its existing plant in central Selangor state would also help the company cope with projected higher sales for Perodua vehicles by the end of the century, he added.

Perodua was launched in 1994 as a joint venture among Japan's Daihatsu, Mitsui and Co. Ltd., Malaysia's UMW Corp. and a group of Malaysian investors.

It produces variants of the mini Kancil and the multi-purpose Rusa vehicle and also assembles cars for Daihatsu.

Abdul Rahman said the company had started work on a new Daihatsu variant and planned to introduce three new models over the next three years to boost sales of Perodua vehicles to more than 147,000 units by 1999.

Perodua chalked up sales of 49,467 units last year, garnering a market share of 17 percent.

Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim earlier launched a new assembly line at Perodua's plant in Selangor, which would raise annual production to 120,000 units from about 65,000 now.

Anwar called on Perodua to strengthen its technological strength and enhance its competitiveness in an open market as Malaysia prepares to liberalize its auto industry.

Perodua also received two certificates from Britain's Vehicle Certification Agency in acknowledgement of its ability to produce quality vehicles, allowing its cars to be registered throughout the European Union.