Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Malaysia Now Under the Sunway Group

The Heavy Equipment Division of Sunway Trading and Manufacturing has acquired Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Malaysia.

Dongfeng Aims to be One of Sunway Group’s Leading Brands 

In line with its overall strategy, the Heavy Equipment Division of Sunway Trading and Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Sunway Group, has officially announced that it has acquired Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Malaysia (DFCVM).

“The acquisition is part of the new products and business diversification of our Heavy Equipment division. Sunway is always on the lookout for new ventures and acquisitions,” said Sunway Trading and Manufacturing Divisions Chief Executive Director Yeoh Yuen Chee. “DFCVM, the Malaysian sole distributor of Dongfeng, one of the top 3 commercial vehicle brands from China and a key supplier of military vehicles to the Chinese army, initially approached us with regards to this,” he added.

Meanwhile, DFCVM Managing Director Lim Khoon Yee explained that DFCVM had been in talks regarding the acquisition for quite some time, but that everything had been on hold due to the pandemic. He revealed that Yeoh even flew to China to visit the Dongfeng commercial vehicle plant.

As a new automotive division of the Sunway Trading and Manufacturing division, DFCVM will still be run by Lim and his team for the time being. Yeoh pointed out that they worked closely together during this transition period.

“Our first step is consolidating DFCVM operations by moving their office from Batu Caves to our Heavy Duty Equipment business operations headquarters in USJ, Subang. DFCVM has competitively priced and high-performance models such as the Kingrun 270, Kinland 375, DF concrete mixer and DFSK minivan and Super Cab in their range of products. We will focus on marketing these models and strengthening our after-sales services and parts for our customers,” he continued.

Synergistic Acquisition Explained

This procurement, Yeoh noted, allows both companies to leverage their respective strengths and competencies to maximise benefits from operational synergy and competitiveness. “Currently, our customer base lies within quarrying and construction, infrastructure, plantation and agriculture, the oil and gas industries, as well as within the manufacturing sector.  On the sales side, it will provide us with an opportunity to diversify and tap into a new market segment of haulage and logistics, while DFCVM will also have new opportunities to expand.

“For the Sunway Group’s in-house synergy, DFCVM offers a full range of trucks for our internal requirements, while operations-wise, DFCVM will gain significant operational and cost synergies from Sunway Trading and Manufacturing. This will include the consolidation of their warehouse operations into our warehouse, as well as strong IT, financial and logistics strength and support.”

Although it is a new segment for the company, Yeoh stressed that strong branding, coupled with the trustworthy reputation of the Sunway and Dongfeng brands, gives them confidence that this acquisition will be a successful venture. 

“One of the main challenges we face includes helping DFCVM change their work culture to incorporate our business style. We also want to help transform DFCVM become the preferred supplier and market leader of Chinese commercial vehicles in Malaysia. By making changes, we can grow together into one coherent entity with shared goals, values and ways of working. This acquisition is a long term and strategic investment, which is why we will focus on the adoption of both hardware and technology solutions to realise the full potential of the Dongfeng brand in Malaysia.”

Keeping an Eye on the Light and Medium Commercial Vehicle Segment

Lim added that DFCVM launched two new products, the DFSK Super Cab and C35 Mini Van two months ago, with a very encouraging response. Yeoh added that they are planning to bring in more light and medium commercial vehicles, especially the deregulated Dongfeng 5.5 and 7.5 tonnes truck models, which cover a market worth around 16k units. Specialist vehicles such as refuse compactors and sweepers are also in the pipeline.

“In the near future, we would like to have our own body building facility and assembling plant for complete knock down (CKD) units. Our goal is to bring Dongfeng to greater heights in the next two years, and we firmly believe that this challenge is achievable if we have the right products and right people to realise it,” Yeoh said with full confidence.

About Sunway Trading & Manufacturing Division

The Trading & Manufacturing division is part of the Sunway Group. Established in 1974, the Sunway Group is one of Malaysia’s largest conglomerates with 12 business divisions, which includes property, construction, retail, hospitality, leisure, healthcare, education, commercial, trading and manufacturing, building materials, quarrying and Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). The Group has 3 public-listed companies — Sunway Berhad, Sunway Construction, and Sunway REIT. In total, the Group has a combined market capitalisation of RM 16 billion, which forms a real-estate value chain that exemplifies socially responsible business practices, evidenced by their listing on the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index.

The Trading & Manufacturing division, he pointed out, traces its roots back to 1981. Beginning with the trading of heavy equipment, the division later expanded into trading of building materials, hoses & fittings, heavy equipment parts, as well as heavy equipment and industrial hardware. To date, the division has successfully spread its wings throughout Malaysia and abroad, including Singapore, Thailand, China, Indonesia and Australia. The division has 41 strategic locations serving its diverse customer groups. These include agriculture, construction, logging, manufacturing, marine, mining, oil and gas, and quarrying.

Over the years, the division has developed a range of in-house brands, including Sunflex and TotalRubber hoses and fittings, Suntrak undercarriage parts and Sunguard oil filters. Added to this are Sunway’s well-recognised agency lines like CASE, Furukawa, Airman, Sany, Daechang Forging, FP diesel, Copperstate, SEL, 3M, Araldite, Bosch, Buick, Nietz, Picasaf, Stanley and OSRAM.

“In short, we have 19 operating companies with offices and warehouses in 40 locations across seven countries, four manufacturing facilities, 200 brand agency lines, 45,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), a team of 1,100 employees across seven countries with 13,000 active customers,” said Yeoh.

Lim concluded that being a new division under Sunway Trading and Marketing Division will allow DFCVM leverage on the division’s infrastructure, networks and services platform. This will provide DFCVM with an incredible opportunity for further growth to make Dongfeng into one of the division’s leading brands. 

大马东风商用车现隶属双威集团

双威集团旗下的双威贸易与制造重型设备分部，配合其整体策列，正式宣布收购马来西亚东风商用车私人有限公司（DFCVM）。

双威贸易与制造分部首席执行长杨允基表示：“此次的收购是我们重型设备分部新产品和业务多元化的一部分。双威一直在寻找新的生意和收购机会。”

他补充说：“DFCVM是东风在马来西亚的独家经销商，而东风则是中国三大商用车品牌之一，也是中国军队军用车辆的主要供应商。DFCVM主动与我们接触，洽谈收购该公司的事宜。”

与此同时，DFCVM董事经理林君玉解释说，该公司已经就收购的事情与双威贸易与制造重型设备分部进行了很长时间的讨论，但冠病的大流行导致一切都被搁置了。他透露，杨允基甚至飞到中国参观东风商用车的工厂。

作为双威贸易与制造分部的一个新汽车部门，DFCVM暂时仍由林君玉和他的团队负责运营。杨允基指出，他们将会在这个过渡时期密切合作。

他继续说：“我们的第一步是将DFCVM的办公室从黑风洞搬到我们位于梳邦 USJ 的重型设备业务运营总部，从而巩固DFCVM的运营。DFCVM的产品系列中拥有具竞争力价格的高性能车款，例如天锦（Kingrun）270、天龙（Kinland）375、DF 混凝土搅拌车和东风小康（DFSK）小型货车和Super Cab。我们将专注于营销这些车型，并加强我们为客户提供的售后服务和零部件。”

协同收购说明

杨允基指出，此次的收购使两家公司能够利用各自的优势和能力，从运营协同和竞争力中获得最大利益。

“目前，我们的客户群包括采石和建筑、基础设施、种植园和农业、石油和天然气行业及制造业。在销售方面，它将为我们提供多元化和开拓新的运输和物流细分市场的机会，而DFCVM也将有新的扩张机会。在双威集团的内部协同效应方面，DFCVM能为我们提供满足公司内部需求的全系列卡车。至于运营，DFCVM也可从双威贸易与制造分部获得显着的运营和成本协同效应。这包括将他们的仓库业务整合到我们的仓库中，以及强大的IT、财务、物流实力和支持。”

虽然这对公司来说是一个新领域，但杨允基强调，强大的品牌，加上值得信赖的双威和东风品牌声誉，让他们相信这次收购将会是一个成功的生意投资。

“我们面临的主要挑战之一包括帮助DFCVM改变他们的工作文化，融入我们的业务风格。我们也希望帮助DFCVM 转型成为马来西亚首选的中国商用车供应商和市场领导者。通过这些改变，我们可以共同成长为一个具有共同目标、价值观和工作方式一致的实体。此次收购是一项长期的战略投资，因此我们将专注于通过采用硬件和技术解决方案，充分发挥东风品牌在马来西亚的潜力。”

关注轻型和中型商用车细分市场

林君玉补充说，DFCVM 两个月前推出了两款新产品，即东风小康 Super Cab 和 C35 迷你货车，在市场获得了令人鼓舞的反响。 杨允基说，大马的轻型和中型商业车市场总量约16,000 辆。他们正计划引进更多的轻型和中型商用车，尤其是解禁的东风 5.5 吨和 7.5 吨卡车车型。垃圾压实机和清扫车等特种车辆也在筹备中。

“我们希望在不久的将来能够拥有自己的车身制造和组装工厂，以进行全散件 (CKD)车辆组装。我们的目标是在未来两年将东风发展到更高的高度，我们坚信，只要我们有合适的产品和人员，这是一个可以实现的挑战。”杨允基充满信心地表示。

关于双威贸易与制造分部

贸易与制造分部是双威集团的一部分。双威集团成立于 1974 年，是马来西亚最大的企业集团之一，拥有 12 个业务部门，包括房地产、建筑、零售、酒店、休闲、医疗保健、教育、商业、贸易和制造、建筑建材、采石和房地产投资信托。该集团旗下有三间上市公司——双威有限公司、双威建设集团有限公司和双威房地产投资信托。总市值为 160 亿令吉的双威集团，形成了一个体现社会责任商业实践的房地产价值链。该集团里的三家上市公司皆以承担社会责任为基础，并荣列马来西亚富时社会责任指数（FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia）成分股。双威致力于推进联合国可持续发展目标，并将继续与环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 目标保持一致，作为其企业战略和社会责任的一部分，以推动该集团的长期成功并深化其建设国家的承诺。

他指出，贸易与制造分部的历史可以追溯到 1981 年。从重型设备贸易开始，该分部后来扩展到建筑建材、软管和配件、重型设备部件以及重型设备和工业硬件。迄今为止，该分部已成功在马来西亚和其他国家开展业务，包括新加坡、泰国、中国、印尼和澳大利亚。该分部拥有 40 个战略地点，为其不同的客户群提供服务。这些包括农业、建筑业、伐木业、制造业、海洋业、采矿业、石油和天然气以及采石业。

多年下来，该分部开发了一系列内部品牌，包括 Sunflex 软管、Suntrak 底盘部件、Sunlube 润滑油和 Sunguard 机油滤清器等。除此之外，还有双威知名的代理产品线如 CASE、Furukawa、Airman、三一重工、大昌锻造、FP 柴油、Copperstate、SEL、3M、Araldite、博世、别克（Buick）、Nietz、Picasaf、Stanley 和 Osram。

杨允基说：“简而言之，我们有 19 家运营公司，在 7个国家的40个地点设有办事处和仓库、4 家制造厂、200 个品牌代理线、45,000 个库存单位 (SKU)，在 7 个国家拥有 1,100 名员工和13,000名活跃客户。”

林君玉总结说，作为双威贸易与制造分部下的一个新部门，将让DFCVM得以充分利用该分部的基础设施、网络和服务平台。这将为 DFCVM 提供进一步发展的绝佳机会，使东风成为该分部的领先品牌之一。