UMW Toyota Motor hits one millionth vehicle production

27 April 2011 - UMW Toyota Motor's manufacturing facility, Assembly Services Sdn Bhd (ASSB) lined-off its one millionth production vehicle, the Toyota Vios TRD Sportivo. This milestone positions ASSB as the first non-national vehicle manufacturer to hit the one millionth mark in Malaysia.

The event to mark the significant milestone was held in the presence of YB Dato' Sri Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry.  Also present at the ceremony was His Excellency, Mr. Masahiko Horie, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia; YBhg Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Chairman, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd.; Mr. Takashi Hibi, Deputy Chairman, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd.; En. Ismet Suki, President of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd., YBhg. Datuk Syed Hisham bin Syed Wazir, President and Group CEO of UMW Holdings Bhd.; and Mr. Yasuhiro Yomoda, General Manager, Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan.

Speaking at the line-off ceremony, YBhg Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd said, "I would like to congratulate all ASSB personnel for their strong dedication, teamwork and commitment all these years that have made this achievement possible. We would also like to thank all our vendors who have contributed to this milestone. A special thanks to the Malaysian and Japanese Government for their continuous support to the local automotive industry."

The cutback in production is due to the supply of electronic components being disrupted by the effects of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11. The company said it will reduce assembly operation days to three in a week and run only afternoon shifts until June 3. It is however continuing to maintain its sales target of 90,000 units for 2011.

Nonetheless, despite production being affected in the short term, preparations are ongoing for the local launch of the next generation Camry sedan, which will be assembled at the company’s Assembly Services Sdn Bhd (ASSB) plant in Shah Alam when it is introduced. The plant celebrated its one millionth vehicle production mark yesterday, with the millionth unit being rolled out a Vios TRD Sportivo model.

UMW TOYOTA MOTOR GROUP ACHIEVEMENT
ASSB first started its production 43 years ago in 1968. Since its inception, ASSB has accomplished many achievements and overcome challenges. In the year 2000, ASSB achieved production volume of 500,000 vehicles and doubled its production volume to one million vehicles within just 10 years.  Strong Toyota sales in the country have contributed to this achievement and further strengthened ASSB’s position as one of the most important Toyota manufacturing facilities in South East Asia.

Commenting on company's investment, Tan Sri Asmat said, "For the past five years (2006-2010), UMW Toyota Motor Group has invested RM900 million and out of that amount, RM460 million was utilized for ASSB mainly to improve quality and production efficiency."

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