Go Auto, the sole distributor for Haval vehicles in Malaysia have expanded their wings into Batam, Indonesia. The company continues its move forward by entering the car market in Batam, Indonesia. Batam, is a free trade zone and it is Go Auto's first play into the Indonesian market. It is also part of their plans to make Malaysia an manufacturing hub for Haval brand in the ASEAN region. Batam is the latest market in ASEAN to be penetrated by Go Auto after it successfully started marketing Haval in Cambodia and Brunei.
The launch was officiated by Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Azam Sulaiman with Makmur Andalan Indonesia (MAI) Director Sudry Aliyanto and PT Nusa Jaya Mobilindo Director Acun in Batam quite recently. Among Haval models that were launched for Batam market include H1, H2 and H8. The impressive looking H8 large SUV is quite a surprise model to be launched in Batam. This is because it hasn't been officially launched here in Malaysia. It must be the tax exempt status of the island.
Ahmad Azam said that the effort to enter the Batam market has been thought of in detail. Its status as a free trade zone makes it easier to start selling cars in Indonesia. It is a first step and it looks optimistic. According to Ahmad Azam, Go Auto have received almost 100 units of bookings from customers in Batam and they are optimistic that the number will increase after the official launch. Their target for 2017 in Batam is 400 units.
As mentioned above, the continuous effort by Go Auto to export Haval vehicles is in line with the company's plan to turn Malaysia into Haval Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) assembling hub with Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEV) status for ASEAN market. Other than Cambodia, Brunei and Batam, Go Auto is planning to enter several ASEAN countries including Vietnam, Philippines and Myanmar between this year and next year.
Ahmad Azam also mentioned that the company also has requests coming in from Singapore inquiring about Haval cars. This is quite a fascinating aspect as admitted by Ahmad Azam. "It is not due to market value (of the car) but more on the brand itself." He mentioned. I personally think it is because the cars actually look pretty good. Inside and out. The quality of these China designed cars are quite impressive. It goes to show that if you specify proper materials inside and out, everything will feel good. The arrival of the Haval brand in Singapore will be a milestone for the brand in ASEAN region. If and when it happens.
Right now, they seem pleased to be able to get a foothold in Indonesia. I suppose you could consider Batam to be their Langkawi, where taxation are less and import permits or regulations on vehicles are not as tight as the other parts of Indonesia. From what I heard, there are also plans to utilise Batam as another export base for Haval. Who knows what the future holds. Let's just observe this new company go places within the region.
Of course, I also hope that we would be witnessing the H8 being sold on our shores in the very near future. It does look good for a large SUV.
No comments:
Post a Comment