BMW Group Malaysia and Sime Darby Auto Engineering (SDAE), a division of Sime Darby Motors has officiated the opening of the SDAE Engine Assembly Facility in Kulim, Kedah.
The plant has been in operation since April this year and has produced over 50 engines so far. It’s expected to churn out 40 to 50 engines per day.
Once the engines are completed, they’re subjected to three different tests. In the “hot test”, the engines are checked for leakages, component (such as sensor) failures and such in ambient temperatures of 30 degrees Celcius, for about 15 minutes. The engines turbochargers are also tested up to temperatures of 800 degrees Celcius.
The engines are then subjected to “performance tests” for two hours where the RPM and air/fuel ratios etc. are monitored. The engines subsequently go through a “dynamic test“, where it runs for 48 hours before they’re reopened for assessment of its internal components.
The assembly facility will be responsible for producing three and four cylinder petrol engines, 4-cylinder diesel engines as well as three and four-cylinder engines for the plug-in hybrid vehicles.
At this point, the engines produced are catered exclusively to BMW’s locally-produced vehicles with plans for them to be exported to Vietnam and Philippines in the near future.
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