PETALING JAYA (Feb 21, 2012): UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd is exploring the assembly of hybrid cars and the manufacturing of components, but the outcome will depend on the revision of the National Automotive Policy, as well as the trend and sales of hybrid cars.
Its president Ismet Suki said the possibility of venturing into hybrid car assembling and component manufacturing in Malaysia "is there but that there are no concrete plans at the moment".
"We will monitor the situation as we're beginning to see a growing awareness of hybrid vehicles. When the market improves and when vehicle volume is at a reasonable figure, we'll look into that seriously," he told reporters after the unveiling of the all-new Prius C and the new, improved version of the third-generation Toyota Prius.
In the meantime, Ismet said, the company needs to monitor the sales of hybrid vehicles before it makes any investment.
"Once we come in, we come in big. We have to be confident, and in order to do that we need to study the situation."
For this year, UMW Toyota is targeting sales of 1,500 units for the new, improved Prius, which is priced at RM139,900 for the standard variant and RM145,500 for the luxury variant.
It also hopes to sell 2,500 units of the all-new Prius C which is priced at RM97,000.
"The (extended) incentive for hybrid cars has helped to push demand. Now we're looking at targeted sales of 5,000 units of hybrid vehicles this year, including the Lexus CT200h," Ismet said.
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