PETALING JAYA: US car manufacturer General Motors Corp (GM) is in talks with several potential parties, including the Naza group, for the exclusive distribution of Chevrolet vehicles in Malaysia, according to an industry source.
�GM is already talking to a few parties. They are also in the process of discussing with Naza and (GM) will have something to announce by the second week of January,� he told StarBiz yesterday.
The source said GM had �excellent plans� for the Malaysian automotive market, adding that there would be new Chevrolet model launches for 2010, including the Chevrolet Cruze which was supposed to make its debut in the second half of this year.
�Yes, we are working on that (introduction of the Cruze) also,� he said.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, DRB-HICOM Bhd and General Motors Asia Pacific Holdings Co LLC said they had mutually agreed to discontinue their existing joint venture agreement to import and distribute Chevrolet vehicles in Malaysia effective Jan 1, 2010.
In the interim period, the source said GM had turned to listed Permaju Industries Bhd�s outfit, Cergazam Sdn Bhd, to manage the franchise until a new partner was found.
DRB-HICOM Bhd group director for automotive Datuk Nik Hamdan Nik Hassan said at a press conference yesterday that the partnership had ended mainly because both parties (GM and DRB-HICOM) had very different business models.
�When both GM and DRB-HICOM started reviewing the partnership between August and September, we had difficulty agreeing on certain business models. They have their own plans, we have our own.
�We have successful business plans with Honda and Suzuki that have been working well (for the Malaysian market). With that, (we felt that) the best way was to part ways,� he said.
DRB-HICOM distributes and assembles foreign marques such as Audi, Mercedes Benz, Honda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Mahindra as well as local marques such as Proton, HICOM Perkasa and Modenas.
Nik Hamdan declined to comment when asked if GM was in talks with Naza.
DRB-HICOM originally handled the Chevrolet franchise via wholly-owned Hicomobil Sdn Bhd in 2003.
The set-up was superseded in 2007 by HICOM-Chevrolet Sdn Bhd, a 51:49 joint venture (JV) in favour of GM via General Motors Asia Pacific Holdings LLC.
One business model that did not sit too well with DRB-HICOM was that GM wanted to convert all Chevrolet outlets into 3S (sales, service and spare parts) centres, Nik Hamdan said. �It�s good to have 3S but we felt it would be better to have separate (sales, service and spare parts) centres (within close proximity of each other) rather than to have everything under one roof. It depends on the strength of the brand and it costs a lot of money to set up these centres.
�It takes time for the dealer to invest in a 3S centre. As the dealer gets more involved with the brand, only then can the dealer invest more money in turning the outlet into a 3S centre,� he said.
There are currently seven Chevrolet outlets in Malaysia.
Nik Hamdan also said the termination of the JV would not have an impact on DRB-HICOM�s earnings as contribution from the Chevrolet marque was minimal.
�Contribution in terms of sales in the past one year has been minimal. In fact, when we had 100% distributorship (under Hicomobil) we sold nearly 14,000 cars.
�When the JV came in, we only sold 1,300 vehicles over the past year and a half, averaging just 65 units to 70 units a month. So it would not have a significant impact on the group,� he said, adding that there were currently about 15,000 Chevrolet vehicles on the road since 2003, comprising three main models � Aveo, Optra and Captiva.
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