Market Watch - Automotive

“Market Watch 2012”

The Malaysian Automotive and Supplier Industry

General information about Malaysia

Malaysia is centrally located within the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Consisting of two regions separated by the South China Sea — the Malaysian Peninsula and the

states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo — Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and

three federal territories. The former British colony gained its independence in 1957. Since

Independence, Malaysia has adopted the political system of a parliamentary democracy with a

constitutional monarch whose position is rotated every five years between each of the nine

hereditary state rulers. The political scene has been characterized by an extra-ordinary degree of

political stability and continuity through an encompassing national coalition of political parties.

Its territory comprises approx. 330,000 sq km, four fifths of which are covered by tropical

rainforest. Due to its bio-diverse range of flora and fauna offering excellent beaches and brilliant

scenery, the country is one of the region‘s key touristic destinations. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic,

multicultural and multilingual society with 28.66 million members. Ethnic Malays make up the

majority of the population at 57.1% followed by Chinese at 24.6%, Indian at 7.3% and other local

ethnicities at 11%. The Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of religion, although Islam is

the largest and official religion. Approx. 61.3% of the population practice Islam, 19.8% Buddhism,

9.2% Christianity, 6.3% Hinduism, and 2.6% practice Confucianism and other traditional Chinese

religions. The official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia, but English as well as Chinese are

the business languages.

Economical Overview

Malaysia is a dynamic country which is constantly evolving. Being a middle-income country,

Malaysia has transformed itself since the 1970s from a producer of raw materials into an

emerging...