It appears the Hyundai marque will soon be managed by a new custodian here in Malaysia. A new website for “Hyundai Motor Malaysia”, parked under the global Hyundai Motor Company domain name (www.hyundai.com/my), hints that the new entity could likely be a Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) owned national sales company.
The same Hyundai Motor Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. company is also listed in the carmaker’s global distributors page, with an addressed located in Menara Affin at Tun Razak Exchange. The page previously listed Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) as the distributor, alongside the website www.hyundai.com.my, which currently displays a domain change announcement.
Nothing has been announced just yet from either party, but the new Hyundai Motor Malaysia website states that the company is arriving soon, and is currently recruiting dealers.
Details about the transition are still unclear, but Sime Darby is likely to remain in the network in one form or another, with a new website (hyundai.simemotors.my) already up and running.
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Moreover, HMC has also signed an investment deal with Inokom valued at RM2.16 billion last year for the establishment of its first local assembly facility in Malaysia in Kulim, Kedah, in what is the Korean carmaker’s largest investment in Malaysia thus far.
Inokom is 51% owned by Sime Motors, while HMC also owns a 15% stake in the company, with HSDM holding another 5%. The multi-brand production facility in Kulim currently acts as the contract manufacturer for HSDM, locally assembling the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe facelift for the Malaysian market.
Hyundai has had a tumultuous year in 2024, selling only just 873 units of its passenger cars in Malaysia, although HMC seems to have greater plans for the brand here on our shores, given its large investment last year, and now the establishment of the yet-to-be-announced national sales company.
It’s interesting times ahead for the Korean marque, and we’ll most definitely be hearing more in the coming weeks.
