Magneti Marelli opens automotive lighting plant in Malaysia
Italian systems and components supplier Magneti Marelli has opened a new automotive lighting plant in Batu Kawan, in Malaysia's Penang state, for production of headlamps and rear lights.
The new plant replaces the company's previous facility in Bayan Lepas, also in Malaysia. The company says that the Batu Kawan facility can manufacture 2.2 million units per annum with a potential to ramp it up to 2.9 million units. The outgoing plant had a capacity of 1.7 million units.
The Malaysian plant will produce front headlamps, rear lights and fog lamps and also LED lighting technology. Production will be aimed at the Japanese carmakers (Honda, Mazda and Suzuki) and at carmakers belonging to the ASEAN area (Proton & Perodua in Malaysia, Ford and GM in Thailand and Indonesia).
The new facility is spread across 56,600sqm, 26,600sqm of which is dedicated to production. The plant will cater to 10 ASEAN nations and Japan. Magneti Marelli is targeting an annual growth of 15 per cent over the next five years for lighting-related business in Malaysia.
"In the changed scenarios of the global automotive market, a very interesting production and market entity such as the ASEAN area is gaining strength next to China and India," stated Eugenio Razelli, Magneti Marelli's CEO.
