Mats Nilsson
KUCHING: Volvo Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Volvo Malaysia) through Volvo Trucks Malaysia (Volvo Trucks) is looking to increase its presence in East Malaysia by increasing its sites at various hot spots in the two states.
Speaking at a press conference for Fuelwatch Challenge here, managing director of Volvo Malaysia, Mats Nilsson said, “One of the things we have going on very much, right now, is investments and expansions in Sibu. We are moving to new sites.”
He highlighted that one of the measures Volvo Malaysia is trying to do, is increase its network density in East Malaysia as it is one of the key growth nodes to the group.
“We have to get closer to the truckers so we reduce the average time between the truck driver and the workshop by 15 to 20 per cent. It’s about network density.
“In addtion to the six dealers in East Malaysia, we also have satellite workshops with private partners, supported by these main hubs,” he said.
Additionally, Nilsson said, “We will also have different kinds of dealership upgradings in Sabah and Sarawak.”
He further revealed, with the rapid growth of Sarawak, driven by the development of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), Volvo Malaysia could potentially invest up between RM5 and RM10 million for the expansion of Volvo in East Malaysia, in the next two to three years.
“We see the market is growing. Depending on this growth, it is likely that we will be looking to invest more,” he said.
Nilsson also said, Volvo Malaysia is developing other sites in Sarawak. He added, the group is currently in the process of upgrading existing ones and increasing its coverage across Sarawak.
Alex Yong
General manager of Volvo East Malaysia and Brunei Alex Yong said, “We will first cover the main towns like Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. We also do site support, for example in logging camps where they have a lot of our trucks.”
Meanwhile, on the national front, as at 2012, Nilsson said, the market share in terms of European heavy duty trucks, in Malaysia, is 39 per cent in total truck deliveries. This was an increase of 42 per cent from 2011.
“We expect the growth to continue in 2013. We expect roughly 15 to 20 per cent increase in Malaysia in 2013 versus 2012 and that will be driven by the growing market.
“We can see that the Malaysian market is growing.I think the gross domestic product (GDP) is growth is roughly between 5.5 and 5.8 per cent. Truck sales usually follow the trends of the GDP fairly closely, although not exactly.”
Apart from that, Nilsson hoped that with Volvo Malaysia’s expansion in East Malaysia, in terms of size of the dealers and the increase network, more job opportunities will be available for Sarawakians and Sabahans.