Forte set to herald new dawn for Naza

 

Local carmaker Naza Group is making a renewed charge for a considerable share of the B and C segments of the non-national makes with the new Forte sedan.

The two segments accounted for more than 10 per cent of the total industry volume, which stood at about 548,000 units last year.

B segment refers to cars like Toyota Vios and Honda City and C segment the likes of Toyota Altis and Honda Civic.

Japanese brands made up about 55,000 units of the segments' sales in 2008 with models such as Toyota Vios and Altis, Honda Civic and City and Nissan Latio and Sylphy.

Naza wants to capture one tenth of the segments' share with the Forte, which is being launched today in two engine options.

Naza Kia Sdn Bhd corporate communication director Samson Anand George said it expects to sell 6,000 units of the locally-produced Forte next year.

Pre-launch sale now stands at 300 units, since bookings were opened three days ago, he said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The group expects to double its overall sales to 26,000 cars next year, with the Forte making up about 20 per cent.

"The Forte represents the new design DNA of the Kia group. In Malaysia, we believe the Forte will herald a new dawn for Naza and our principal, at least in the B and C segments," Samson said.

"The Forte was the first Kia car conceptualised by Peter Schreyer under the South Korean carmaker's new design DNA," he added.

Germany's Schreyer was designer of the sexy Audi TT and was roped in by Kia as its chief design officer in 2006 to help create Kia cars with a new look and character.

The Forte is offered in three trims with two engine versions - two variants with 1.6-litre engine and a 2-litre engine option.

The entry-level 1.6 Forte EX is sold at about RM75,800, the 1.6 SX sells at RM81,800 and the flagship 2.0 Forte costs RM93,800.

Samson said the Forte is locally assembled at Naza's production facility in Gurun, Kedah. It spent RM25 million on the production line there.

Industry observers said the pricing for the Forte EX and SX puts them in direct competition with Honda City 1.5 and Toyota Vios 1.5. But the former two have an edge in terms of space, size, power and other features.

They said the 2.0 Forte is a more tempting choice. At sub-RM95,000 and with full specifications like six airbags, smart key system and other features normally found only in premium cars, the car offers a better proposition than any of the Japanese models in the C segment.

"The 2.0 Forte is the only two litre passenger car here with a price below RM95,000, and perhaps RM100,000," one of them noted.

Insiders, meanwhile, said the Forte will be offered at the current prices for a limited period.