Inokom Corporation (Inokom) has announced it will soon launch a new vehicle painting facility at its 200-acre site in Kulim, Kedah as it focuses on being the preferred automotive assembly partner in the ASEAN region.
The contract vehicle assembler has been operating for nearly three decades, with production first commencing in 1997. The company is currently majority owned by Sime Motors (51%), with other key shareholders being Sime Darby Hyundai (5%), Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea (15%) and Bermaz Auto (29%).
At present, Inokom produces vehicles for seven global automotive brands – namely BMW, MINI, Porsche, Mazda, Hyundai, Chery and Kia – for both the domestic market as well as export markets. While Kia is currently still part of the portfolio, it was announced earlier this month that the brand will transition local assembly (CKD) operations to Stellantis’ Gurun plant in Kedah.
Operating under a plant-within-a-plant concept, Inokom hosts dedicated assembly lines tailored to the specific technical and quality requirements of each brand. In its release, it pointed out that its Kulim site features integrated facilities like body shops, paint shops, assembly shops and centralised warehouses.
These are supported by a 100% Malaysian workforce comprising over 2,700 employees to date. In addition to vehicle assembly, Inokom engages with 370 local vendors to participate in its global supply chain, supporting the Malaysian automotive ecosystem. Over the years, production volumes have increased from 20,500 units in 2021 to over 31,800 units in 2025. Within this period, over 24,500 units have been exported to regional markets.
“Inokom is a testament to what Malaysian industry is capable of achieving. It continues to uphold the trust of world-leading automotive marques, and this speaks volumes about the depth of capability we have built here in Malaysia. This aligns closely with high-value, homegrown industrial strength that the national GEAR-uP agenda strives to nurture and sustain, particularly in advancing high-value manufacturing built on Malaysian expertise and capabilities that are competitive on the global stage,” said Sime’s group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson.
For a trip down memory lane, Inokom has been collaborating with Hyundai as far back as 1993. In 2000, the company expanded into commercial and passenger vehicle assembly, starting with the Inokom Lorimas (Hyundai Porter), which was followed by the Inokom Atos (Hyundai Atos) in 2002.
The first CKD Mazda 3 came later in 2011 and is deemed as one of the cornerstones of the facility’s operations. Since then, more models have left the assembly lines at the Inokom site, including those with BMW and MINI badges.
Inokom is also home to BMW Group’s third-largest engine assembly plant in the world, which was launched in 2018 and marked the continuation of a long-standing partnership with Sime beginning in 2003 that saw the German brand set up shop in Kulim since 2009.
Since 2018, over 11,800 BMW and MINI vehicles assembled at Inokom have been exported to the Philippines and Thailand. In 2022, the premium automaker rolled out its 100,000th vehicle produced at Inokom, and the i5 became the first fully electric BMW model to be assembled in Asia Pacific in 2026.
Another milestone came in 2021 when Porsche selected Inokom as its first assembly facility outside of Europe, with local assembly being expanded in 2024 to include exports to Thailand. Chery is the most recent addition to Inokom’s portfolio in 2023 and a year later, the Omoda E5 became Inokom’s first-ever electric vehicle (EV) assembly.
“The automotive landscape is changing rapidly, with new technologies, emerging markets and evolving expectations. We are committed to ensuring that Inokom stays ahead of the curve by continuously investing in our people, raising our standards and expanding our capabilities. As an industrial anchor in the NCER (Northern Corridor Economic Region), Inokom also continues to create meaningful opportunities, from developing high-value skills to supporting local businesses and contributing to the country’s broader economic resilience,” commented Jeffri.
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