MIDA e-News

Renown British luxury sportscar maker Aston Martin has opened a sales and service centre in Malaysia through its dealership with Jelita Seleksi Sdn Bhd, the official franschise importer and dealer of Aston Martin cars in the country.

Jelita Seleksi is 30% held by Aston Martin Lagonda (SEA) Pte Ltd, a Berjaya Corporation Bhd's associate company.

Speaking at the opening of the centre yesterday, Singapore-based Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd Global Sales Director, Andy Gawthorpe said the company would use Kuala Lumpur as a base before exporting to China, Japan, and South Korea

The RM8 million showroom gallery and service centre in Petaling Jaya covering 480sq metres, is one of Aston Martin's 140 dealers worldwide.

Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur, which is managed by factory-certified engineers could now serve customers from both Malaysia and Singapore. The Kuala Lumpur outlet is the 143 rd centre in the world.

Besides Malaysia, Aston Martin’s other Asian dealers are in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. By next year, it would make a foray into South Korea.

Aston Martin, which was set up a decade ago sells some 4,000 cars a year globally with prices from RM1.1 million to RM2.2 million.

Currently, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 20% of the brand’s global sales volume.

Also present at the launch were Aston Martin Lagonda (SEA) Pte Ltd Managing Director, Derek McCully, Aston Martin Asia-Pacific Regional Director, Matthew Bennett, Aston Martin Lagonda (SEA) Pte Ltd Director, Datuk Francis Lee, and Jelita Seleksi Executive Director, Nazrul Mohtar.

Adapted from NST Business Times and StarBiz 17 July 2012