New Sime facility to produce 10,000 BMW engines a year

KULIM: The new RM132mil Sime Darby Auto Engineering (SDAE) facility here will produce 10,000 BMW engines per annum to cater to the growing demand for locally assembled vehicles with innovative capabilities in engine assembly technology.

Sime Darby Motors (Malaysia/ Thailand/Taiwan) managing director Dennis Ho said that the 10,000 units were the product of a single shift.

“Should we go on two shifts, the volume would double to 20,000. Currently, the plant is operating on a single shift,” Ho told reporters after the opening of the plant in Padang Meha here.

Also present were BMW Group senior vice-president (production engines and electrified powertrains) Ilka Horstmeier, Sime Darby chairman Tan Sri Wan Abdul Wan Abdullah, and BMW Group Malaysia chief executive officer Harald Hoelzl.

Ho added that there was no compromise on the quality of the engines produced here.

“The standards of the quality checks used at this SDAE plant in Padang Meha are similar to those used in Germany.

“The parts and components are imported from Germany,” Ho pointed out.

The plant is located on 2.4ha with a built-up area of 8,500 sq m.

“SDAE has invested over RM132mil in the new engine assembly plant that would support BMW’s growing demand for locally assembled vehicles with the newest capabilities in engine assembly technology, as well as support the premium automaker’s export initiatives to other markets in the region,” Ho said.

The plant is equipped with the latest innovation for engine assembly including dosing and bonding technology equipment, engine engraving, engine oil filling and test machines for hydraulic valve play compensation, leak tests as well as hot and cold testing, according to Ho.

Meanwhile, Wan Abdul said Sime Darby Motors’ vision was to be the preferred contract assembly partner for the most dynamic automakers in Asean.

“We aim to produce more than 50,000 vehicles as well as the engine parts and components for the vehicles by 2020.

“The new SDAE engine assembly facility takes us one giant leap forward in making this goal a reality,” he added.

Hoelzl said Malaysia’s role as BMW’s strategic partner in SouthEast Asia was reflected in the company’s business performance in the region.

“In the first quarter of 2018, we are on target for an eighth consecutive year of record sales with a delivery of 604,629 vehicles worldwide, a 3% growth as compared to the same period in 2017.

“In Malaysia, BMW has already successfully achieved a 15% increase in the deliveries of BMW, Mini and BMW Motorrad vehicles in the country, delivering 3,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2018,” he said.

The parts and components are imported from Germany. Dennis Ho