Subaru CKD deal – more details announced
Earlier this week, we received news from the folks at Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. makers of Subaru cars, that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed with the Tan Chong Group for the local assembly of Subaru vehicles in Malaysia. Today, we heard Tan Chong’s side story confirming that the deal is indeed on and that the vehicle in question is a compact SUV based on the Subaru XV concept vehicle.
A statement was issued yesterday by Motor Image, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tan Chong Group established in 1986 in Singapore, and has since been responsible for the distribution of Subaru vehicles to Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Southern China, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, in addition to the island republic itself. It was once again stated that production will commence in October 2012, with a targeted volume of 5,000 units per month.
In 2010, Motor Image was able to move 2,300 units of Subaru vehicles out of showrooms in its ASEAN network. Through the Malaysia CKD programme, which will also supply vehicles to Thailand and Indonesia, Motor Image aims to increase its revenue by ten-fold within the first year of introducing the XV concept to the three markets.
Motor Image’s current network consists of 76 sales and distribution outlets across 10 markets. The company hopes to aggressively grow that market with the opening of 60 new outlets on Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The Group will execute its growth strategy rapidly with:
• Three sales and distribution outlets in Indonesia as of July 2011 with 20 more planned through 2013.
• One sales and distribution outlets in Thailand as of July 2011 with 22 more planned through 2013.
• Two sales and distribution outlets in Malaysia as of July 2011 with 18 more planned through 2013.
Pictures: Official Fuji Heavy Industries release.
