Magneti Marelli new lighting plant in Malaysia

A new Magneti Marelli automotive lighting plant for the production of headlamps and rear lights for the automotive sector was inaugurated in Batu Kawan, in the Malaysian state of Penang. The plant was built to replace the facilities in Bayan Lepas, with a significant increase in the production capacity, which will go from 1.7 million lighting units per year to 2.2 million components, with a potential further increase up to 2.9 million units per year. The production plant was also equipped with cutting-edge machinery and production technologies that guarantee the highest technical-qualitative standards, capable of satisfying the needs of “premium” automotive segment. The new facilities cover a total surface area of 56,600 square meters, 26,600 of which are dedicated to production, with an actual workforce of 1000 employees, that could possibly grow of a 50pc more, in relation to the gradual increase of the production capacity. In the recent evolution dynamics and in the shifting of weights between the various areas of the global automotive market, the AESEAN market is becoming increasingly important both in terms of internal dimensions and as a production hub aimed at the entire Asian continent, Japan in particular. As a whole, the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) market consists of ten countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia), it has approximately 600 million inhabitants. Taking into account Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia alone, the volume of the automobile market for new registrations has reached about 3 million vehicles in 2012, while the circulating fleet is amounts to over 38 million vehicles. In this strategic scenario, the strengthening of Magneti Marelli Aumotive Lighting industrial presence in Malaysia is aimed at satisfying the needs of customers living in the same ASEAN area and on the Japanese market, with potential prospects of an average annual growth of 15pc in the next five years for lighting-related business in Malaysia.