2019 AUTO PARTS, COMPONENTS EXPORTS TO BREACH RM12 BLN: MARII

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia Automotive Robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) Institute, (MARii), expects exports of automotive parts and components to exceed RM12 billion this year.

Chief Executive Officer Datuk Mohamad Madani Sahari said the higher export value would be driven by an increase in the competitiveness of the local vendors and the greater number of vendors exporting their products.

"The number of our vendors exporting their products has grown from 30 in 2010 to over 170 in 2017," he told reporters after co-hosting the 2019 new year message with Perodua and the Karakuri Awards Ceremony here today.

He said in terms of value, Malaysian automotive parts and component suppliers more than doubled their export value to RM11.8 billion in 2017 from RM5.2 billion in 2011.

"The higher exports of parts and components are a direct reflection of the higher competitiveness of the automotive parts and components suppliers in Malaysia," he said.

Madani expressed confidence that last year’s automotive parts and components exports would reach RM12 billion after recording RM11 billion worth of exports for the January to October period.

He said among the methods that can improve vendors’ competitiveness is Karakuri methodology, which enhances processes through simple automation techniques that don't depend on electricity.

"The Karakuri is a methodology to improve productivity by 30 per cent.

"When you improve the productivity by 30 per cent, that will reduce your cost of operation," he said, noting the productivity improvement is enough to make Malaysian products competitive in target markets.

Meanwhile, Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said Karakuri has been the main tool to improve its operations since 2017.

"Prior to 2015, we focused on reducing waste to reduce cost. Now, we are entering into a new phase where we are working on the Karakuri where we want to improve our operations using simple automation processes without having to invest a big amount of money," he said.

Earlier in his speech, Madani called for automotive industry players to work together in order to continuously evolve in tandem with the global pace.

"The industry can only expand when there are collaborative efforts among the entire automotive community," he said.

He said new capacity building and development programmes would be introduced to vendors and automotive players alike to enhance the adoption of robotics and IoT within the automotive ecosystem. 

“The emergence of new technologies spurred the development of new sectors such as robotics and IoT.

"These sectors will clearly expand to become the future landscape of the automotive ecosystem," he said.

He added that the adoption of robotics and IoT is vital for the industry’s sustainability.

The Karakuri Award recognises vendors who have achieved significant improvements in productivity and timing using the Karakuri methodology.

-- BERNAMA