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A new future
In 1998, the owners of TD2000 Pty Ltd felt that the company and car could go further with new ownership and, though personally attached to it, indicated that it was available for sale. The availability came to the attention of a group of Malaysian businessmen who, together with a couple of close Australian associates, decided to acquire it.
They established a new Malaysian-based company (with their Australian associates having a 30% stake) known as TD Cars (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and took over all the assets and intellectual properties of TD Cars Pty Ltd. Although the economic crisis in Asia was of concern, they were bullish about the prospects of selling the car in the world market and decided to produce it in Malaysia.
Having the production base in Malaysia was not just for nationalistic reasons, as TD Cars Malaysia Managing Director Edward Teo told AUTOWORLD.COM.MY: “The country has a mature automobile manufacturing industry which started from the 1960s. The workforce is skilled and there is a well established and competent network of component suppliers. They supply not just to domestic factories but also to major manufacturers around the world so there is a world-class quality standard.”
“The exchange rates also favour exports, which will allow us to price the TD 2000 very attractively in most markets,” added Mr Teo, a man with considerable experience in the Malaysian auto industry during the 1970s and 1980s.
Further refinement
In taking over the TD2000, TD Cars Malaysia wanted to upgrade it further while retaining the original styling of yesteryear. A major change was in the engine: the original Nissan engine which was no longer made was replaced by a modern 2.0-litre DOHC EFI 16-valve engine with a matched manual 5-speed gearbox made by Toyota (the 3S-FE found in some versions of the Celica). Supply of new engines was agreed upon by Toyota through its trading arm, Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
With its new engine, the TD2000 was re-engineered, refined and submitted for new ADR certification in Australia. It passed the 1999 requirements easily and is considered as satisfying prevailing requirements. Following this important step, production commenced in August 1999 at the factory of Automotive Conversions Engineering (ACE, a subsidiary of EON which specialises in customising Protons) in the Glenmarie Industrial Estate outside Kuala Lumpur.
Last year, EON was appointed national distributor for the TD2000 as well as providing after-sales support to customers in Malaysia. A selected number of independent dealers also offer the model while in Singapore, where the first units were exported not so long ago, Cycle & Carriage Ltd sells the TD2000.
“Though the TD2000’s basic design will not be changed, we will continue to make technical improvements here and there,” promised Mr Teo. “One of the improvements we made was in the design of the soft top, which is easier to install and remove than the original one. We also improved brake feel in the 4-disc brake system after receiving feedback.” He revealed that the company is considering offering a TD2000 Automatic in future as there are customers who prefer such a transmission.
