This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 8, 2017 - June 14, 2017

KUCHING: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd, together with its authorised dealer partner Hap Seng Star Sdn Bhd, yesterday unveiled its first integrated one-stop centre in Sabah and Sarawak.

Managed by 40 personnel, the Hap Seng Kuching Autohaus deals with all things related to vehicle sales, technical services, spare parts and spray painting, and services both passenger and commercial vehicles.

It houses 16 work bays and a spray booth, and has the capacity to service 510 vehicles a month.

“Sarawak is a key market for Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles, as it is the fourth-largest market in Malaysia after [the] Klang Valley, Johor and Penang,” Mercedes-Benz Malaysia president and chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Claus Weidner said at the opening of the Autohaus yesterday.

“This market is very important to us, and together with our dealer partner, this Autohaus will offer our valued customers here our best products, best service and best customer experience,” said Weidner.

Hap Seng has to date invested a total of RM237 million in enriching customer touchpoints nationwide, with an investment of RM53 million in the Hap Seng Kuching Autohaus alone.

Hap Seng operates in 11 locations, including Bukit Tinggi, Balakong, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Ipoh, Kinrara, Klang, Ipoh and Kuantan in Peninsular Malaysia. In Sabah and Sarawak, Hap Seng is present in Kuching, Miri and Kota Kinabalu.

Weidner said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will continue to pump in investments to grow its business in Malaysia “whenever we see demand”.

Since the establishment of the company — which is a joint venture between Daimler AG and Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd — in 2003, it has invested more than RM900 million in a wide range of business areas, including production, dealership network expansion and training, he added.

Meanwhile, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd group chief operating officer and Hap Seng Star CEO Harald Behrend said the group expects to post higher revenue from its automotive division for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017 (FY17).

Sales volume in FY17, according to Behrend, is expected to be driven by four models, namely the Mercedes-Benz E-Class CKD, C-Class, GLC and GLA facelift.

“You will definitely see growth in our automotive division going forward. We have set a higher target for this year, and we are on track [to achieve that target],” he said.

In FY16, Hap Seng Consolidated reported a revenue of close to RM1.1 billion from its automotive division.