Naza Automotive Group dreams big in EV segment foray

KUALA LUMPUR - Cars importer and distributor Naza Automotive Group has huge plans for its new venture into the electric vehicle (EV) market, with the segment contributing 25 per cent to its total revenue per annum in the next five years.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Mohd Rizal Jailan said the group aimed to be one of the significant players in the Malaysian EV markets, not just bringing new EV brands to join its portfolio but also being among the infrastructure providers.

He said the group is looking into providing charging facilities in Peninsular Malaysia, specifically in the central region, and planned to expand to other areas.

"We have to work with those already established in the market, not only about the product (cars) but also the infrastructure. The good thing about Naza is that we have other divisions within the group (that can help materialise this aspiration).

"For example, we have Naza TTDI and Naza Engineering for property construction and development. So we can look at the synergy within different divisions to have a holistic offering to our customers who intend to buy EV," he told Bernama.

Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd is the property development arm of Naza Group.

Mohd Rizal said that the number of charging stations in the country is among the main concerns holding buyers from shifting to EVs.

As many facilities are concentrated in big cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru, he said it is challenging to convince those outside these areas to move into EVs.

Mohd Rizal said Naza Automotive planned to introduce several new brands offering EV models to capture the EV wave coming into the country. This is alongside the existing brands under the Naza portfolio, which has its EV models currently in the pipeline. He hinted that the group is set to announce a new partnership with a major brand in Asia soon, without disclosing further details, and for distributorship in Malaysia and potentially a few Asean countries.

Naza Automotive currently holds distributorship rights for a few luxury brands in the country, namely Maserati, Ducati and Suzuki.

NZ Wheels, a subsidiary of Naza Automotive Group, is the completely built-up (CBU) importer of Mercedes Benz and holds dealerships in Klang Valley and Johor Bahru.

As for 2023, Mohd Rizal said the group expects to clinch a 35 per cent hike in revenue this year backed by the recovery in post-Covid-19 consumer spending and pent-up demand for automotive, the introduction of new models, solid sales from Naza Motor Trading, the importer of pre-owned luxury cars and bike brands beyond Naza Group's automotive portfolio.

He said the revenue target would see Naza Automotive surpass the RM1 billion revenue mark and higher compared with 2022's revenue of RM700 million.

The CEO added this is equivalent to more than 2,000 units of cars being sold during the year.

"The best seller brand last year was Mercedes Benz, and the trend will be the same this year. It's just that the number and model mix sold will be different.

"We are targeting all brands to have quite a similar increase, especially for Suzuki," he said, citing the group intended to promote Suzuki aggressively this year as well as the planned introduction of another two models.

Also, he said the dealer network would be expanded to have a better reach of customers, including East Malaysia. There are currently two Suzuki models in the Malaysia market, Swift Sport and Jimny, through distributorship under Naza Group's subsidiary, Naza Eastern Motors Sdn Bhd.

It will be a tough but exciting journey for the group. - BERNAMA