The launch of the Volkswagen Touareg in March this year marks the fifth locally-assembled model in the brand’s line-up here in Malaysia. It’s also the first time the model has been assembled outside of Europe – a unique badge of honour that it shares with the locally-assembled Golf R.
The fully locally-assembled line-up not only indicates Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia’s (VPCM) commitment to our market, it’s also part of a larger plan to make Malaysia its regional production and export hub, according to the minister of international trade and industry, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
In addition to the “conventional” internal combustion engine models, VPCM also has plans to introduce locally-assembled electric vehicles (EV) in Malaysia, the MITI minister shared in a post on X (Twitter) after a meeting with the company.
“I am confident that this collaboration will strengthen Malaysia’s position in the regional automotive arena,” the minister added, although no details on the EV model were shared.
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Aside from the Touareg and Golf R, VPCM’s assembly plant in Pekan, Pahang, also manufactures the Golf GTI (first outside of Europe and China), Tiguan Allspace, and Arteon R-Line.
The company has yet to make an official entrance into the EV space here in Malaysia, although it had previously previewed the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro Performance back in 2022. The company’s electric line-up, also known as ID, currently includes the ID.3, ID.5, ID.6, ID.7, and the ID. Buzz, with a smaller hatchback model dubbed ID.2 set to begin official production in 2025.
