Volkswagen Picks Malaysia as Production Base Over Indonesia

KatadataOTO – After Stellantis, Indonesia has now also been outpaced by Malaysia in inviting Volkswagen to open a factory in Indonesia. This is because the German manufacturer has chosen the neighboring country to become its production base.

This is evident from the start of Audi Q7 production at the DRB-Hicom factory in Pekan. In one of its presentations, it was shown that they plan to start exporting to several Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“We are working very hard with the government and are prepared to meet the needs of the export market and electric cars starting next year. Mild hybrid cars are now just the first step in bringing more models like PHEVs to electric cars in the coming years,” said Dr. Susanne Lehmann, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Malaysia, as reported by Paultan (25/04).

Unfortunately, she did not mention what they will offer for export purposes in the future. However, the presentation showed a Volkswagen Touareg, an Audi Q7, and one electric car unit.

Photo : Courtesy

It should be noted that Volkswagen Indonesia has recently been quite focused on introducing electric vehicle products. One of the latest is the ID.Buzz, which was launched at the IIMS 2025 event.

Various advantages have been embedded in this model, including Powered Sliding Doors and a Kick Sensor for the side doors and trunk. Its presence allows customers to access the cabin more freely.

Photo : KatadataOTO

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz LWB is equipped with an 86 kWh capacity battery, which is sufficient for a journey of up to 487 km. This power is used to operate an electric motor with 281 hp and 560 Nm of torque.

Thanks to this, the car can accelerate from 0 to 100 km per hour in 7.9 seconds. Meanwhile, its maximum speed is 160 km per hour.