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You can also contribute to this blog. Please e-mail me at ahoklah@gmail.com if you have any Malaysian auto news to share. Spy shots would be most welcome.

I support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, challenge to Proton to aim for zero defects in all the cars it produced. Read the report in the Star

At present they have reduced the number of defects to 2 per car, which is not good enough if they are to comepete with the best in the World.

The PM's call for "zero-defects" is interesting. It was Philip B.Crosby who first advocated the "zero-defects" program. It was adopted by the US federal government defining quality as "conformance to requirements". He emphasized prevention rather than inspection (audits) and came up with the well known definition of quality : "meeting the customers requirements the first time and every time".

It is part of Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques which include identifying the root cause of defects and to eliminate them. This would ultimately lead to reduced costs and improved customer satisfaction.

Hope the people at Proton are listening.

Hyundai in Malaysia

I was a bit confused about Hyundai operations in Malaysia. However, reading this article in the Star cleared up a lot of things. I also did a bit of research on my own.

Hyundai-Berjaya Corp Bhd (HBJCorp) owns Hyundai-Berjaya Sdn Bhd (HBSB), Inokom Corp Sdn Bhd (the manufacturing arm), and franchisee Hyumal Motors Sdn Bhd. SIME Darby Bhd has 51% stakes in the publicly listed HBJCorp.

Hyundai-Berjaya Sdn. Bhd., with majority share owned by Berjaya Group Berhad, was incorporated on August 3, 1991.

Hyumal Motor Sdn. Bhd. is the importer CBU Hyundai vehicles distributed by Hyundai-Berjaya Sdn. Bhd. It was incorporated on October 16, 1990, with Bumiputras as the majority shareholder and Berjaya Group Berhad with a minority stake.

Hyumal Motor Sdn. Bhd. in collaboration with Oriental Holdings Berhad, has formaed Oriental-Hyudai Sdn. Bhd, in March 2001 to carry out CKD operations and distribution. The current range of CKD models available in Malaysia are the Elantra 1.8 and the Sonata 2.0. Kah Bintang Auto Sdn Bhd. is the main dealer for Hyundai cars distributed by Oriental Hyundai.
I am sure you are thouroughly confused by the web by now. BTW, Datuk Ben Yeoh is the CEO of Hyundai Malaysia.

In South Korea, Hyundai owns the Kia brand. The funny thing is that Kia's range of vehicles is distributed in Malaysia by another company, Naza Kia Sdn Bhd (NKSB) (formerly known as Earning Link Sdn Bhd). It is a member of the Naza Group of Companies (Naza Motor Trading Sdn Bhd, which is led by Y. Bhg Tan Sri Dato' Seri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin.

New Proton Chairman

Proton now has a new chairman. Datuk Mohd Azlan Hashim succeeded Datuk Abu Hassan Kendut. Datuk Mohd Azlan Hashim is the former head of Bursa Malaysia.



Read the full news in the Star, and in the NST.



It was also reported that Proton might start a joint venture to assemble cars in China this year and the company is expected to unveil a 1.3-litre Tiara replacement model in March, and the 1.6-litre Satria Replacement model by July this year.

Auto Blog

Just started this blog - specially dedicated to cars and any new developments in the Malaysian Auto industry.

I have always been interested in cars since I was a kid. When I was a schoolboy, I used to have this nice big poster of a bright red Lamborghini Countach on my wall. Several years later I still love looking at nice cars - even though I know I can't afford one.

Anyway, I guess what I had heard on the grapevine and had bloged about a few months ago was true. Just read something about a new Malaysian supercar on the Cars, Bikes and Trucks supplement of the NST. Even though they didn't identify the identity of the manufacturer, there is without doubt that it is Proton. The car is expected to be unveiled during the F1 race here in Sepang in March.

Can't wait to see how it looks and performs.