UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) recently announced its plan for local mass manufacturing of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) in Malaysia with an additional investment of MYR 270 million (USD 63.69 million) to expand its current manufacturing operations and facility. The company has been manufacturing Toyota vehicles in the country for the past 52 years.
This additional investment is on top of an earlier MYR 2 billion (USD 470 million) worth of investment that went into the construction and commissioning of its new plant in Bukit Raja, Selangor, which is regarded as one of Toyota’s most modern, most advanced and most efficient plants in Asia. The Bukit Raja facility is already well-positioned to become a regional automotive hub in Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEV), with its environmental footprint includes the installation of 2MW of solar panels, its ability to collect and recycle 156 cubic meters of rainwater, and the installation of a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer which presented the plant with the lowest Volatile Organic Compound emissions in Asia.
According to UMW Toyota Motor Deputy Chairman, Akio Takeyama, Toyota’s global direction is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and is in line with the Malaysian government’s aspiration to promote more green technology and environmental sustainability in the country. He said that the mass production and growing acceptance of HEVs in Malaysia will lead to the entire automotive eco-system evolving to embrace a more conscious and concerted effort in reducing Malaysia’s carbon footprint, and this will be an exciting time for the Malaysian automotive industry, now at its most ideal conditions to pursue a new and exciting journey towards achieving carbon neutrality. The introduction of Hybrid Electric technology is expected to quickly transform the automotive landscape for Malaysians in the country.
(Sources: UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd; The Malaysian Reserve)