Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia

Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (VCMM) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweden-based Volvo Car Corporation. The company was established in September 1966 through a joint venture between AB Volvo and the Federal Auto Company Sdn. Bhd..

Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia operates a vehicle assembly plant in Shah Alam which produces Volvo passenger cars for domestic and export markets. The 50-year-old VCMM plant is the oldest automobile assembly plant in Malaysia, and is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the Malaysian automotive industry.

Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia was previously known as Swedish Motor Assemblies Sdn. Bhd. (SMA) between 1966 and 2012. From 2013 onward, the company changed its name to Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia.

Volvo's history in Malaysia dates back to the early 1960s. Four businessmen from Penang had travelled to Volvo's establishment in Sweden to propose plans to market Volvo cars in Malaysia. Volvo granted the group the distributorship rights, and the Federal Auto Company Sdn. Bhd. was founded in March 1960. The first Volvo cars were imported into Malaysia in that same month. Initially, sales were slow-paced, but by 1966, Volvo cars had gained a good reputation in Malaysia, while Federal Auto had expanded their network throughout West Malaysia and Singapore.

In September 1966, Swedish Motor Assemblies Sdn. Bhd. (SMA) was established as a joint venture on a 50/50 basis between Volvo and Federal Auto. SMA was established in response to a government-proposed initiative to set up an automotive industry in Malaysia. Foreign and local companies were granted licenses and incentives to facilitate local assembly of vehicles and manufacturing of vehicle components. Volvo was one of nineteen firms which expressed interest in the project.

Construction of the Swedish Motor Assemblies plant commenced in March 1967 in an industrial estate in Batu Tiga, near Shah Alam. Construction was hampered by the 1967 Suez crisis and other issues, but was completed on schedule in October 1967. The Volvo 144 became the first model to roll-off the SMA assembly line in November 1967. The Minister of Transport, Sardon Jubir, test drove the first Malaysian-assembled Volvo the following month. The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Lim Swee Aun, officially opened the Swedish Motor Assemblies plant on 17 February 1968.