Porsche assembles second Cayenne model in Malaysia

Two years ago, in March 2022, Porsche began assembly operations outside Germany for the first time in its history. The facility chosen for this was Inokom Corporation, owned by Sime Darby Motors, in Kulim, Kedah.

Inokom must have met the very high quality standards that the manufacturer of  German sportscars and SUVs would have required, and was chosen. Only one model – the Cayenne – was selected for assembly in Malaysia, this being the most popular Porsche.

Fast forward to today, the facility (which began operations in the 1990s) has completed over 2,000 units of the Cayenne of two generations. The ‘customer’ must be very satisfied with Inokom’s work as Porsche has added the Cayenne S E-Hybrid to the line at Inokom.

To accommodate this additional model, Inokom has expanded its assembly section dedicated to Porsche assembly to 11,000 square metres. This expansion of Sime Darby’s high value assembly capabilities also creates job opportunities and new knowledge transfer to the local workforce, enabling them to learn the latest manufacturing techniques.

“This is a significant milestone for us at Sime Darby together with our partner, Porsche, in unlocking new opportunities in the ASEAN region while affirming the capabilities of our highly skilled local talents. We remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering product consistency that meets the discerning demands of Porsche customers, expanding beyond domestic market to our neighbouring country, Thailand,” said Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson, Group CEO of the Sime Darby Group.

While the Cayenne that has been assembled so far has been supplied only to the Malaysian market, the Cayenne S E-Hybrid will also be exported to Thailand. Although it will be the first Porsche model assembled in Malaysia to be exported, it is not the first model exported from the Inokom plant as models such as the Mazda CX-5 and BMW models have also been exported to neighbouring countries.

Customers in Thailand will start receiving the Malaysian-assembled Cayenne S E-Hybrid  from August 2024. The model is priced at THB 6,290,000 (about RM815,000).

About the Cayenne S E-Hybrid
The Cayenne S E-Hybrid is a fairly new variant in the Cayenne range, having been launched in September last year. It is one of the three plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models in the Cayanne range.

This electrified model has a 365 ps 3-litre V6 turbocharged engine which works with an electric motor generating 175 ps. When working at peak output, the PHEV system can deliver 519 ps/750 Nm.

With a PHEV powertrain, the concerns that the owner of a fully electric vehicle have are not present. If really necessary, the Cayenne can still run on its petrol engine which can be refuelled easily. Having the motor allows for pure electric driving at times and with the large rechargeable battery pack, the potential range can be quite great.

With the local assembly of the Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Malaysian buyers should see some savings compared to the CBU model which comes from Germany. However, the government still won’t give any tax exemptions for hybrid models and only for fully electric vehicles. So any reductions will come from other incentives that the government provides for locally assembled models.

Porsche World Road Show at the Sepang International Circuit