Malaysian Car Parts Makers Eye Joint-Ventures In India

By M. Santhiran NEW DELHI, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysian car component manufacturers are looking into the possibility of having joint-venture projects with their Indian counterparts in value-added component technology. Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) Chief Excutive Officer, Madani Sahari, said India, which manufactured nearly 2.5 million cars annually, offered the potentials for Malaysian companies to expand their businesses. "MAI will continue to facilitate the tier-one vendors in expanding their market access beyond Malaysia and Asean countries," Madani told Bernama here Friday. Madani led a delegation of MAI officials and 13 car component vendors, including Sapura, Sipro, Permintex and Ingress, on a five-day working visit. The delegation visted India's biggest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, who holds 46 per cent of the car market in the country. They also visited the Mayur Industry and International Centre for Automative Technology and India's Autoshow 2016. Madani said besides India, MAI has also facilitated Malaysian component makers to visit plants in Japan, South Korea and Germany. "In 2005, Malaysia exported components worth about RM1 billion and we improved to RM14 billion in 2014," he said, adding last year alone Malaysian companies exported car components worth US$200 million to the US. -- BERNAMA