DRB-HICOM, VW to invest RM600m more in Pekan

by **hlk** Fri 26 Apr 2013, 08:27

IMPRESSIVE PROGRESS: Total investment in automotive hub touches RM4.5 billion

DRB-HICOM Bhd and Volkswagen AG will pump in an additional RM600 million
to their RM1 billion investment in an assembly plant here.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this will increase total
investment in the royal town's automotive sector to RM4.5 billion,
making it one of the country's major automotive hubs that can generate
10,580 jobs and RM12 billion in gross national income by 2015.

It is learnt that the additional investment is to boost Volkswagen production at DRB-HICOM's automotive complex here.
DRB-HICOM currently assembles the Volkswagen Passat large sedan and
plans to produce the Polo and Jetta for the local and regional markets.

In his speech at a meeting with DRB-HICOM employees here yesterday,
Najib said the development of the automotive industry in Pekan has been
impressive.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

"From only 200 workers in 1984, the automotive complex now has
close to 3,200 employees and stands in the same rank with other
international automotive producers such as Isuzu, Suzuki, Mercedes Benz
and Volkswagen.

"We can expect more good news as DRB-HICOM
will produce armoured personnel carriers which will also be stationed at
the Eastern Sabah Security Zone," he said.

DRB-HICOM managing
director Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil said it was Najib's
"intervention" in mid-2010 that led to Volkswagen's decision to set up
its assembly plant for the Asean region here.

"Not many know
this story, but it was the prime minister who was responsible for this.
He cut his annual holiday short and met with the top management of
Volkswagen, and shortly after, we signed the collaboration. Thailand was
Volkswagen's initial choice," he said.

In response to this,
Najib said: "In the case of Pekan and our commitment to making it the
hub for the automotive industry, the government acted very fast in
approving Volkswagen's entry. And the rest, like people say, is
history."

The prime minister added that the government always puts in place various incentives to attract investments into the country.