Nearly seven months after the Sime Darby Auto Performance’s official announcement last year to locally assemble its cars here in Malaysia, the first-ever CKD Porsche Cayenne has now finally rolled off the assembly line at the Sime Darby assembly plant in Kulim, Kedah.
Not only is it the Cayenne the first Porsche model to be assembled in Malaysia, the assembly plant is also the first assembly facility for Porsche vehicles outside of Europe. It’ll be staffed 100% by Malaysians, all of them comprehensively trained by Porsche of course, and supported by a local network of suppliers and service providers.
Porsche Executive Board member for Production and Logistics, Albrecht Reimold said that the new assembly site in Malaysia meets the specific market needs, and operates alongside the company’s established network of production facilities in Europe.
“In particular, it meets comprehensive quality standards set forth by Porsche when assembling Porsche sports cars,” he added.
In addition, the new Kulim assembly plant also meets Porsche’s sustainability standards, with solar panels on the roof to provide renewable energy for production, and rainwater harvesting technologies to reduce wastewater.
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The Cayenne is the only model currently planned to be assembled here in Malaysia, and Porsche says that the CKD operation is only intended to serve the local market. As announced last year, the locally-assembled Porsche Cayenne will start from RM550,000, making it RM115k cheaper than its CBU counterpart.
On top of the price reduction, the locally-assembled Cayenne will also come with additional standard features previously only available as options. These include:
- LED headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS)
- 21-inch RS Spyder design wheels
- 14-way power-adjustable comfort seats with memory function
- Bose Surround Sound System
- Four-zone climate control
- Porsche Communication Management system
- 12-inch touchscreen infotainment display with Apple CarPlay connectivity
- Park Assist with front, rear and surround views
- Porsche Advanced Cockpit
- Sports steering wheel
Aside from the extended list of equipment, Porsche will also be offering a specially-curated Exclusive Manufaktur package option which adds additional exterior styling elements and a sports exhaust system for RM58,000, as well as a Carbon Interior Package and other lifestyle-oriented Tequipment accessories.
As for power, the base-model Porsche Cayenne is equipped with a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 engine that sends 340 hp and 450 Nm of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission.
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