ASSB rolls out 1 millionth vehicle for UMW Toyota
Toyota’s local assembly operations in Malaysia has reached a major milestone, with the one millionth Malaysian-assembled Toyota rolling out from Assembly Services Sdn Bhd’s (ASSB) plant in Shah Alam yesterday. The milestone vehicle was a Toyota Vios TRD Sportivo, and its birth was marked with a ceremony held at the plant.
Speaking at the line-off ceremony, YBhg Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd said, “I would like to congratulate all ASSB personnel for their strong dedication, teamwork and commitment all these years that have made this achievement possible. We would also like to thank all our vendors who have contributed to this milestone. A special thanks to the Malaysian and Japanese Government for their continuous support to the local automotive industry.”
ASSB begun assembling Toyota vehicles for the Malaysian market 43 years ago, in 1968. The plant took more than 30 years to make hit the 500,000 vehicle mark, but the doubling of that tally was accomplished at a much quicker rate. In the last five years, UMWT has invested RM900 million into the plant, with RM460 million allocated for improvement of quality and efficiency.
Although Toyota’s has fewer locally-assembled models in its line-up compared to its immediate rivals, that deficit is sufficiently made up by sheer volume. Its two biggest sellers in our market, Vios and Hilux 2.5, both command the biggest market shares of their respective segments by very huge margins. The Vios, in particular, features a high level of local content, with body panels and resin parts among them. The next generation Vios is planned to include an even higher percentage of local content with ECU being a notable highlight.
UMW Toyota Motor also puts high priority on vendor development. According to Tan Sri Asmat, “We encourage our local vendors to implement the Toyota Production System (TPS) at their manufacturing facilities in order to improve quality, cost and delivery. Furthermore, we also encourage them to acquire technical collaboration with global vendors to enhance their production technology.”
ASSB’s current production output does not cater only to the Malaysian market, and neither are they necessarily in the form of completely built-up vehicles. Toyota Hiace vans built in this plants are exported to Thailand, and a number of multi-sourcing parts are exported to Toyota affiliates around Asia Pacific. In 2009, UMWT’s exports were valued at RM 670 million, a figure which increased by 36% to RM 915 million for 2010.
The next three years will see a further RM 1 billion of investment poured into UMWT’s operations in Malaysia, out of which RM 350 million is being set aside for ASSB. The plant will commence assembly operations of the next generation Toyota Camry in 2012.
Network expansion and enhancement have been allocated RM 300 million. Also in the portfolio is a new stockyard in Bukit Raja, scheduled to start operations in the later half of this year. The facility will also accommodate a test track, accessory centre, body and paint centre.
UMWT seeks further support from the Malaysian and Japanese Governments to expand its future manufacturing operations. The company also looks forward for the Malaysian government’s further implementation of the National Automotive Policy to ensure a long term competitiveness of the automotive industry.
