LDV Group announces Asian markets partnership with Malaysian Weststar group

The Russian-owned British light commercial vehicle specialist LDV is set to enter Far East markets with the announcement that it is to collaborate with Malaysia’s Weststar Group, granting Weststar exclusive marketing rights in 20 Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

The partnership will see LDV and Weststar develop the light commercial vehicle market with LDV’s MAXUS range in 20 countries beginning in Vietnam and Indonesia, followed by other Asean countries, Australia, New Zealand and the Gulf Co-operation Council states. Weststar LDV Sdn Bhd has secured exclusive rights as franchise holder and will market, assemble, distribute and service the full range of LDV Maxus light commercial vehicles in the 20 countries.

The announcement marks the first time a Malaysian company has acquired the rights to assemble a current Western-developed vehicle and distribute it beyond Malaysia’s shores under its own brand name.

Speaking at the vehicles’ rollout, Dato’ Seri Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, managing director of Weststar LDV said: “Asia’s economic rise has resulted in the over-production of passenger cars and under-investment in light commercial vehicles. Demand is at a high point across the countries we serve, and rapidly rising.

“Our entry point, with demand outpacing supply, means that we may need to ramp up production and make cross-supply arrangements to fill gaps in the supply of light commercial vehicles across the 20 countries we operate in.

“In one stroke, this British-Malaysia partnership creates a multi-country opening for us while falling in step with Malaysia’s National Automotive Policy, which is to have our auto industry footprint spanning the region.”

Steve Young, LDV’s UK chief executive, said: “When GAZ International purchased LDV in 2006, we said that our ambitions were to take the LDV MAXUS range across the globe. Our partnership with Weststar reflects this ambition.”

In Malaysia, the Weststar LDV Maxus range will be assembled in Pekan, Pahang, and undergo a post-assembly fit-out in the Klang Valley. The initial production run will be 600 units this year.

Syed Azman said: “We are off to a good start in Malaysia. To date, we have sold a good number of units and secured healthy orders for our first batch of vehicles. Government agencies, institutions and services providers have expressed keen interest to purchase our vehicles.”

Frost & Sullivan figures suggest light commercial vehicles commanded half of the total Malaysian commercial vehicle sales, which reached 50,098 units in 2005 and are expected to increase to 69,302 units in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate of 4.7 per cent.

Weststar LDV has identified Vietnam and Indonesia as key new markets, each of which has a large population base and equally fast growing economies. “We are looking at working with assembly plant owners in these two countries and we expect to kick off initial production of 600 units in each country by the fourth quarter of the year,” said Syed Azmanm, adding, “Our vehicles currently have 18% local content, and we intend to move this up to 40% by year-end.”