Race on for GM's hand

The race is on for Malaysian companies to win the hand of General Motors (GM) after the US carmaker ended a pact to sell Chevrolet cars in Malaysia with DRB-HICOM Bhd.


Those rumoured to be in contention are conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd, the Naza group and Permaju Industries Bhd.

The prize will be a stake in a business to sell a well-known brand in one of Southeast Asia's biggest car markets. Car sales in Malaysia number around 500,000 units a year.

Under its partnership with DRB-HICOM, Chevrolet sales were more than 3,000 units in a good year. However, they have since fallen to fewer than 1,000 units.

GM was reported to be talking to Naza, but the latter declined to comment yesterday.



Naza has rights to distribute Kia and Peugeot cars in Malaysia.

It also has rights for luxury cars like Ferrari and Maserati.

Early this month, Naza group chief operating officer Al-Jeffery Ibrahim said it was taking proactive steps to become the franchisee for more automotive brands.

The group handles several well-known brands such as BMW, Hyundai, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo and Ford.

Naza is also believed to be the new importer and distributor for Porsche cars in Malaysia next year.

Calls to Sime Darby motor division head of corporate affairs Datuk Aishah Ahmad went unanswered.

Still, the dark horse could be Permaju, a timber company which has diversified into the motor vehicle industry.

Its unit, Cergazam Sdn Bhd, is currently the largest Chevrolet dealer in the country, operating four out of seven outlets selling and servicing the likes of Optra and Aveo sedans and Captiva sport utility vehicles.

It was reported that Cergazam appeared to be GM's favourite partner of choice, and this was reflected in its acquisition of a piece of prime land in Sungai Penchala in Damansara, Selangor.

It was believed that Cergazam bought the land next to Ingress Corp Bhd's BMW sales and service centre to build a three-storey building that will house its headquarters as well as a GM-Chevrolet head office.

However, when contacted, Permaju managing director Andy Chai declined to comment.

GM executives could not be reached for comment yester-day.