A while ago I had a chance to visit the
Go Auto assembly plant in Gurun, Kedah. Go Auto is currently
distributors and assemblers for the Great Wall Motors (GWM) brand of vehicles here
in Malaysia. It isn't just the Great Wall Haval M4 being assembled here actually. But there is more to them than meets the eye.
The Go Automobile Manufacturing Sdn Bhd
plant began operations sometime in 2011 and started out assembling
vehicles and 4x4 pickup trucks belonging to Great Wall Motors. These
days the plant can assemble slightly more than 300 units of vehicles
per month and there are plans to expand the size of the factory so
that it may eventually produce over a thousand vehicles per month. At
the moment operations are on a smallish scale compared to the NAZA
plant located in front of it. The Go Auto plant may be small but what
I could see is an efficient system implemented. And they do not only
assemble Great Wall Motor vehicles, they also contract assemble for
other automotive brands from China too.
The second line is the one that
contract assembles commercial vehicles like the 13 seater passenger
vans, food trucks and other mid-sized vehicles. You would see JinBei
food trucks assembled here, or ZX Auto 4x4 Pick Ups that are sold in
Thailand assembled here or GAC SUV in left hand drive for exports to
Cambodia. When I was there, they were assembling BAIC passenger vans
that are for our Malaysian market.
The main line is the one that most of
us would be interested in. It currently produces about 300 units of the
Haval M4 SUV monthly – This is currently the only vehicle being assembled
as production of the the Wingle Pick Up truck has ceased for the
time being (more concentration by Go Auto on niche market
cars like the Haval M4 and the upcoming Honda CRV sized SUV). Most of
this are for the Malaysian market and later, these would be exported
around the right hand drive ASEAN market. It would seem that the Go
Auto plant is actually a centre for assembling right hand drive
vehicles as well as vehicles that would benefit from the ASEAN tax
breaks. Which is why this small plant has the potential to make it
really big regionally by assembling Made in China vehicles. Quite a
clever move by the people who manage Go Auto.
Chassis assembly
Anyway, during the walkabout around the
plant as well as information garnered during the initial briefing by
the Production Plant Manager, Mr. Yusof bin Saad, I am of the opinion
that the operating style of the plant is quite unique. They use
something called a tier zero system, whereby there are vendors who
actually assemble the main line cars like the GWM Haval M4 for Go
Auto instead of Go Auto staff themselves. There are six main vendors
that actually do the warehousing or parts, parts quality control and
assurance, chassis assembly, interior trim, final installation bits
and fluid filling (coolant, oil, brake fluid etc). The parts from the
warehouse are sorted and sent to the assembly line where it is
checked by a vendor, passed and then assembly by the chassis vendor
is done. Then when this part has been completed, an initial check is
done before the next vendor starts his assembly and this continues
until the end. Each and every end of station a QC check is made until
the whole car is completed where a final check and pass is given by
Go Auto staff themselves.
This system actually makes things quite
efficient and the fact that the vendors would not simply release a
vehicle unless it hits a certain approval. Of course, this sorts out
most of the issues in assembling a vehicle but even so it does not
fully ensure that all cars would be perfect. Vehicle imperfections
are lessened. I have seen Haval M4 test mules with 100,000km and
205,000km which do not rattle. This is a good sign that the system
works. But whilst I do think that this system cuts down a lot of
problems upon delivery. Of course, there are still the occasional
issues here and there which I have heard. Nothing is 100% perfect, if
it were, the people running Go Auto wouldn't be mortal men or women.
Trim Assembly
This lean and mean system is
what allows Go Auto to assemble cars quickly. The operation rate for
the plant is 85% capacity with 14 to 16 units of the Haval M4 per
day. I was quite impressed with the overall setup. Their intention to
become a leading assembler for smaller brands for the ASEAN market is
a good move. In fact, there have been also talk by Asian countries
who are not members of ASEAN to actually enter into negotiations with
Go Auto on behalf of some of the Chinese principals. It goes to show
the trust put into this company by them.
Eventually when the plant expansion is
done, the Go Auto plant could become a player in the regional market.
This is actually so unlike some of the assembly plants we have here
which only cater locally. Thinking global or even regional is a very,
very, good thing. Enough of this 'jaguh kampung' or local hero
mentality. And it is quite surprising that we see something like this
happening in a factory in the heartland of Malaysia. I think this
happens when the people who work at a place actually believe
wholeheartedly in what they are doing. From the management to the
people who assemble the vehicles. This is actually so different from
the norm.
This human touch may be the key
to Go Auto's further success.
Completed cars go through rolling road tests for brakes and engine on the right of the photo. After this they go through a simulated rain shower before being passed by the QC people.
Two Jin Bei commercial vehicles and a black coloured GWM hatchback that was under evaluation beside a Perodua . It was this or the Haval M4. And the M4 won.
After the visit, I got a chance to test this 205,000km+ Haval M4 AMT test mule. Nothing rattles and it was on its original AMT clutch, gearbox and engines. We took it through the paddy field tracks, to an island nearby and up Gunung Jerai. The review of that drive can be read here
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