The recipients of the 2008 Frost & Sullivan ASEAN Automotive Awards together with some of the VIPS at the event

Local companies in the Malaysian automotive sector received top accolades at the 2008 Frost & Sullivan ASEAN Automotive Awards presented in Kuala Lumpur last night. The companies included Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), Proton Holdings Bhd, Hicom Teck-See Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Ambank (M) Bhd, Automotive Corporation Malaysia Sdn Bhd (ACM) and Boon Siew Sdn Bhd.

Kavan Mukhtyar, Partner & Head of the Automotive & Transportation Practice, Asia Pacific, said that the awards seek to recognize best practices and outstanding performance by companies in South East Asia’s automotive market during 2007.

He added that the award recipients for the 2008 Frost & Sullivan ASEAN Automotive Awards were identified based on an in-depth research conducted by Frost & Sullivan’s analysts. The award categories offered were carefully reviewed and evaluated to reflect the current market landscape and included new emerging trends, For the 2008 awards, a ‘Best Value-for-Money Model’ category was included for the first time.

“This is to recognize the car model with the lowest cost of ownership amidst rising oil prices worldwide,” he explained. Mr. Mukhtyar also said that the unrelenting high oil prices globally will have an impact on new vehicle sales. “The mid-segment cars will be affected significantly and consumers will give greater importance to “total cost of ownership” when choosing a car. Factors that will matter the most include fuel efficiency, maintenance and spare parts cost.”
 
He said that Governments in South East Asia may need to review their automotive policies. “Policies to encourage development of alternate fuel based vehicles are the way forward. Natural gas, hybrid technologies, biofuels, electric vehicles are some of the options to reduce the dependence on petrol and diesel,” he added.

Mr. Mukhtyar also said that consumers are also likely to shift their attention to compact cars from higher capacity cars. “Automakers’ focus for the future will be to develop low cost cars and engines that are fuel efficient,” he added.

Perodua Viva

Proton Persona

In Malaysia, the ‘Best Value-for-Money Model of the Year’ award went to the Perodua Viva which was selected forthat the Viva offered the lowest cost of ownership in the market with competitive pricing and low maintenance cost.

The Proton Persona was named the ‘Best Model of the Year’ in Malaysia as it has received positive responses from the Malaysian public. “This achievement was even more commendable given the fact that the Persona marks a turning point for Proton, which resulted in an improved brand image as well as enhanced public trust and confidence towards the company,” he added.
 
“The recipients of the 2008 Frost & Sullivan ASEAN Automotive Award have clearly demonstrated outstanding leadership in their own market segments,” he said.

The short-listed companies for the 2008 Frost & Sullivan ASEAN Automotive Awards were evaluated on a variety of actual market performance indicators which included revenue growth; market share and growth in market share; leadership in product innovation; marketing strategy and business development strategy.

T-Systems was the platinum sponsor for the awards while Malaysian Automotive Association is the supporting organization. Media partners included Autocar Asean, Business Today, Asean Autobiz, Auto Bild Indonesia and Otomotif.

THE AWARD WINNERS FOR 2008

BEST MODEL   
Best Model of the Year (Indonesia): Nissan Grand Livina
Best Model of the Year (Malaysia): Proton Persona
Best Model of the Year (Singapore): Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6L
Best Model of the Year (Thailand): Honda Civic 1.8L

AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS  
Emerging Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Indonesia): PT Selamat Sempurna Tbk  
Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Malaysia): Hicom-Teck See Mfg M'sia Sdn Bhd    
Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Singapore): Armstrong Industrial Corporation Ltd
Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Thailand): Aapico Hitech Public Co Ltd 

BEST VALUE-FOR-MONEY   
Best Value-for-Money Model of the Year (Indonesia): Suzuki Karimun Estilo  
Best Value-for-Money Model of the Year (Malaysia): Perodua Viva  
Best Value-for-Money Model of the Year (Singapore): Honda City 1.5L  
Best Value-for-Money Model of the Year (Thailand): Toyota Vios 1.5L 

PICK-UP TRUCK   
Best Pick-Up Truck of the Year (Thailand): Toyota Hilux Vigo Extra Cab 4x2 
Best Value-For-Money Pick-Up Truck of the Year (Thailand): Mitsubishi Triton Single Cab 2.5L 

AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE   
Automotive Finance Company of the Year (Indonesia): Astra Credit Companies  
Automotive Finance Company of the Year (Malaysia): Ambank (M) Bhd  
Automotive Finance Company of the Year (Thailand): K-Auto Finance (Kasikorn Leasing) Co Ltd 

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES   
Market Leadership for Commercial Vehicles (Indonesia): PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors  
Market Leadership for Commercial Vehicles (Malaysia): Automotive Corporation Malaysia Sdn Bhd    
Market Leadership for Commercial Vehicles (Thailand): Hino Motors Thailand Ltd 

AUTOMOTIVE DISTRIBUTION   
Automotive Distributor of the Year (Indonesia): PT Toyota Astra Motor  
Automotive Distributor of the Year (Thailand): Siam Nissan Automobile Co Ltd 

MOTORCYCLE COMPANY   
Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year (Indonesia): PT Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing  
Motorcycle Distributor of the Year (Malaysia) : Boon Siew Sdn Bhd  
Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year (Thailand) : A.P. Honda Co Ltd
 
NAVIGATION   
Most Promising Car Navigation Software Company of the Year (Thailand) : Able ITS Co Ltd 

ASEAN     
Automotive Company of the Year (ASEAN):  Nissan Asia Pacific Pte Ltd 

Nissan's impressive performance in the region, especially with the Grand Livina, made it the choice for Automotive Company of the Year (ASEAN)

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