Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) is set to open its first plant in Malaysia next year with an investment valued at RM2.16 billion, Bernama reports.
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said it will be the South Korean carmaker’s largest investment in Malaysia and will provide many job opportunities.
“This is a huge investment. A total of seven car models will be produced within five years. The plant will be opened in Kulim (Kedah) next year,” he told Malaysian media covering prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim‘s official visit to South Korea here today.
“(translated) HMC’s RM2.16 billion investment will lead to more competitively-priced Hyundai vehicles in Malaysia. We have set a few conditions to HMC to use local components in their production. With this, HMC will be able to produce cars at more competitive prices,” Sinar Harian quoted Zafrul as saying.
He told the Malay-language daily that the new Kulim plant is expected to start production in mid-2025 and that the seven aforementioned models encompass ICE and hybrid vehicles in the next five years, with EVs possible in the long term.
Anwar and his delegation arrived in Seoul last night for a three-day official visit. He had a closed-door meeting today with HMC.
Kulim is also the location of contract assembler Inokom’s plant, which has been assembling Hyundai vehicles since the early-2000s up to the facelifted fourth-gen Santa Fe, which is now the only locally-assembled (CKD) Hyundai on sale. HMC of Korea currently owns 15% of Inokom.
More questions than answers so far, but we’ll report on further developments as they come.
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