German auto giant and Europe's largest car maker, Volkswagen Group, is looking at Malaysia as its sourcing hub for auto components in the region to fulfill its worldwide production.
The group's global sourcing unit would set up a small department here within Volkswagen Malaysia in the next couple of months, Volkswagen Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director Andreas Prinz said.
"They will not be looking only at the Malaysian market but use Malaysia as a sourcing hub for worldwide production," he said after unveiling three new Volkswagen models for the Malaysian market and breaking of the fast at the company premises here yesterday.
The new models are Passat CC, Scirocco and Golf GTI Mark 6 Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, was reportedly interested in assembling cars in Malaysia and was in discussions with several parties, including DRB-Hicom Bhd, but no concrete decision has been made so far.
Asked whether it was part of its completely-knocked-down (CKD) programme in Malaysia, Prinz said, "We not only want to fulfill the 40 per cent local content requirement but also see the market as a really good sourcing opportunity for worldwide production."
It is an independent programme from the CKD," he said, adding that initially the group was looking at Singapore as a sourcing hub.
He said there were many high-technology companies based in Malaysia and international suppliers have benefited and managed to fulfill their requirements."
