Sime Darby Motors Adds Indonesian Market To Its List

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Sime Darby Motors Adds Indonesian Market To Its List With BMW/MINI Dealership

Sime Darby Motors, a unit of Sime Darby Berhad, is one of the major players in the automotive business in the Asia Pacific region. Its involvement over the past 40 years has covered retail, distribution and assembly in nine markets.

It now adds Indonesia to the list with the establishment of a joint venture between its subsidiary Sime Singapore Ltd. and Galeon Group. The joint venture company, known as PT Performance Motors Indonesia, will handle the BMW Group brands, BMW and MINI.

PT Performance Motors Indonesia is Sime Darby Motors’ first venture in Indonesia. It will start off in Jakarta and Medan with two dealerships representing BMW and MINI. Moving forward, it will expand into other provinces in Java and Sumatra to grow the BMW Group’s network in Indonesia.

A *BMW showroom at a dealership of Sime Darby Motors.*

“We appreciate BMW Group’s trust in Sime Darby Motors, and we look forward to continue growing with BMW Group Indonesia as a strategic partner, and to work closely to grow the BMW and MINI brands in Indonesia,” said Sime Darby Berhad Group CEO, Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson.

“This new joint venture is part of Sime Darby Berhad’s strategy to grow our Motors operations in Asia Pacific. Indonesia, being a country with one of the largest automotive markets in the region and, with a large and fast-growing middle and upper middle class, is a very important market for us.” He said.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Galeon Group to realise our expansion plans. Galeon, having been in the automotive business since 1989, has the critical expertise and understanding of the local automotive scene,” added Dato’ Jeffri.

^{Sime Darby Motors City complex in Malaysia where the Sime Darby automotive unit has its headquarters.}

Welcoming Sime Darby Motors into BMW Group Indonesia’ dealer network, BMW Group Indonesia President Director, Ramesh Divyanathan, said: “This is a clear sign of confidence in BMW Group Indonesia’s presence here and the strong sales performance of BMW and MINI brands in this market, both of which set new records in 2022. BMW Group Indonesia is a wholly owned Munich-based BMW AG subsidiary. Having been established more than 22 years ago, this subsidiary reflects the BMW Group’s confidence in the long-term future of Indonesia, demonstrating that we are here to stay.”

*^{BMW iX is among the models that PT Performance Motors Indonesia will be selling.}*

Teaming up with Sime Darby Motors as its partner in PT Performance Motors Indonesia, the Galeon Group expects to accelerate growth via brand expansion to include the MINI brand and expand its territory outside of current locations.

“With Sime Darby’s strong automotive and BMW experience, solid back-end systems, and strong financial capacity to support growth, we are confident that this partnership would bring success,” said Leonel Gozali, Principal of Galeon Group.

Long relationship between Sime Darby and BMW
The relationship between Sime Darby Motors and the BMW Group goes back to the 1980s. Since then, it has been chosen to represent BMW in 8 markets (Australia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand), MINI in 6 markets (Australia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and New Zealand), and Rolls-Royce in 4 markets (Australia, China. Hong Kong and Macau)

Besides the BMW Group brands, it also represents 32 other automotive brands (many in the premium and luxury segments) and automotive-related brands. Its involvement in the vehicle assembly business dates back to 1982 when it acquired Associated Motor Industries in Shah Alam, Selangor. When the plant closed in 2007, Sime Darby Motors moved its production activities to Inokom in Kedah, which it had acquired in 2004.

*^{The Inokom factory complex in Kulim, Kedah.}*

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The plant today assembles a wide range of models of different brands, including BMW and MINI, for the local and regional markets. The plant also has the distinction of being the first plant outside Germany to assemble Porsche vehicles.

*^{Engine assembly for BMW vehicles is also carried out at a facility adjacent to the Inokom plant.}*

In 2018, the Sime Darby Auto Engineering Engine Assembly facility also began operations on an adjacent site. This facility carries out assembly of engines for BMW’s models assembled in Malaysia.