Porsche owners to enjoy improved after sales
Things continue to look good for the Porsche brand here in Malaysia, now under the custody of Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP). Backed by the all-new Cayenne and Panamera, Porsche’s order books in Malaysia swelled from 34 units in the first half of 2010 to 237 units in the latter half.
Combined, the Cayenne and Panamera is responsible for 91% of Porsche’s volume in Malaysia, although the bulk of orders are for the Cayenne at 73%. The biggest seller is the Cayenne V6, which accounts for 42% of Porsche’s volume here. In terms of delivery, however, the actual number of cars sold by Porsche in 2010 stands at 104. In light of overwhelming demand, plans are already afoot to ramp up production of vehicles for the Malaysian market. The delivery time for a Porsche vehicle in Malaysia is currently at 3 – 5 months.
The sudden improvement in Porsche’s fortunes is thanks in no small part to competitively-priced models, although SDAP is now working to beef up its after sales service as well. Starting tomorrow till 28 February, SDAP will also be holding a free service clinic for all Porsche owners with a 111-point check and a no obligation quotation of repairs should any be needed. Free Porsche merchandise and a set of wiper blades worth RM300 will be given to customers participating in this clinic. The clinic is even open to grey import Porsche’s who will entitled to a 10% discount on SDAP’s ‘Grey Market Welcome Package’.
The ‘Grey Market Welcome Package’ entitles owners of parallel imported Porsches access to SDAP’s after sales network. Cost of entry into this programme is RM15k and is open only to JPJ-registered vehicles and having belonged to the current owner for more than six months. Vehicles under the package will be put through a comprehensive check of its background and systems, and necessary maintenance be carried out accordingly. The cars will then be slapped with one year warranties and membership of Porsche Assistance as part of the package.
Members of the media were yesterday given a tour of Porsche’s service facilities in its Glenmarie 3S centre. Amongst many high-tech equipment shown to us was the ‘Hunter Hawk Eye’, a high-precision wheel alignment system which includes corner weighing and also calibration of the Adaptive Cruise Control radar emitter. The system even allows for owners to have their cars setup for track day usage.
Complementing the ‘Hawk Eye’ is the Hunter Road Force Measurement System, which has the ability to detect hard points and bias in tyres. The system allows the technician to precisely balance the wheels under simulated running conditions. It even suggests, based on the vehicle’s alignment geometry which tyre/wheel is best fitted to which corner of the car.
SDAP is also in the midst of reorganizing its stocks of spare parts, focusing to stock higher quantities of fast moving parts. To help speed up the reorganization, SDAP held a parts warehouse sales at its Glenmarie showroom for the whole of today, where original Porsche parts were sold at heavily discounted prices.
