EON To Be Sole TD 2000 Distributor

Edaran Otomobil Nasional (EON), after 15 years of selling distributing and marketing nothing else but Protons, has now added a second brand to its portfolio – TD Cars. Under an agreement signed between the two parties today in the presence of the Prime Minister, EON will be the sole distributor of the TD 2000 classic sportscar in Malaysia.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Putrajaya, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Saleh bin Sulong said that the distributorship agreement will be for an initial period of five years, with a further option to extend a further five years. He added that although EON has 175 outlets throughout the country, the TD 200 will only be offered through at selected outlets in the initial stage, and these outlets will be mainly in urban areas.

“At this time, we have appointed 52 sales branches and 18 dealers to sell the TD 2000,” he said. EON will also be providing after-sales services to TD 2000 owners through its comprehensive service network.

“It should, however, be noted that taking on this new model to distribute will not distract EON from its primary business of distributing and marketing Proton cars,” he emphasised. “We are doing what we do best – that is, selling cars – and selling the TD 2000 will not compete against the national car. Rather, it is in a niche market for those who want to own a different kind of classic sportscar.”

He revealed that EON’s decision to sell the TD 2000 was given blessings by Proton.

The relationship between EON and TD Cars (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is not new as the two companies were already collaborating right from the time manufacture of the TD 2000 began in Malaysia a year ago. An EON subsidiary, Automotive Conversion Engineering (ACE), was contracted to build the fibreglass-bodied cars which are based on the MG TD. During the past twelve months, TD Cars Malaysia has been busy getting local content up to 50% and preparing for domestic and export sales.

“We are expecting to have 80 cars built this year by ACE, which is located at the Glenmarie Industrial Estate in Shah Alam,” said TD Cars Malaysia Chairman Datuk (Dr) Jaafar Mohamed Ali. “Next year, the output will be increased to 180 units and we are confident that demand will be quite good and project a doubling of output in 2002.”

Datuk (Dr) Jaafar said that the company is looking forward to the regional market when AFTA is realised and exports between ASEAN countries can be done more easily. He added that markets beyond ASEAN are also being considered with Australia and UK/Ireland likely to be important ones in future.

“It will certainly be something special when we start exporting to UK, which is where the MG TD, on which the TD 2000 is based, was originally built,” he said. “In fact, we are already working with some parties to apply for homologation so that the car can be permitted for sale in the near future.”

Following the signing ceremony, the Prime Minister presented the car keys to two of the first TD 2000 customers – Dr Sharifuddin Abdul Wahab and Dato’ Hamzah bin Abdul Rahman. When asked by AUTOWORLD.COM.MY why he had chosen to buy a TD 2000, Dr Sharifuddin said that he had been wanting such a car because of its classic image.

“I like the looks and also the fact that it has modern mechanical parts, which means it won’t be spending time in the workshop as an old vintage model would due to its age,” he explained. “Being a Malaysian-made sportscar is also something that makes me feel quite proud as an owner.”

Dr Mahathir himself also seemed quite taken by the TD 2000 and decided to hop into the car and took a quick spin with Tan Sri Saleh Sulong as his passenger. The PM, a car enthusiast, floored the throttle as he zoomed out of the carpark, the car giving off a throaty growl. According to an executive of TD Cars Malaysia, the PM was impressed by the fact that the car was being built in Malaysia and had high quality.

The TD 2000 retails for between RM182,532 to RM186,551 (RM124,061 in Pulau Langkawi) and is presently only available with a 5-speed manual transmission. TD Cars Malaysia is developing a version with automatic transmission and assessing customer demand before deciding if it will offer this version in future.