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Mercedes-Benz Malaysia's Pekan plant has produced 264 units of the Mercedes-Benz S400L Hybrid this year so far. The S400L Hybrid, which was announced to have a duty-free price of RM587,888 in May this year, has been flying off the shelves, with waiting lists extending to beyond a year so far.

Mercedes-Benz dealerships have been informing customers that all allocation of CKD packs to the Malaysian market have been snapped up to the end of 2015, which is when the duty free incentives for CKD hybrids ends. Nevertheless, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia says it are working closely with its German counterparts to increase supply of the S400L Hybrid.

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"Malaysia is an important market for Mercedes-Benz and Daimler, and we are always looking for opportunities to enhance our presence in the country. The success of the S400L Hybrid is a prime example of the potential this country offers and this certainly helps us serve our customers better. We look forward to working closely with the government and authorities to enhance the automotive sector," said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia President and CEO, Roland Folger.

The Pekan plant celebrates its 10th anniversaty this year. It is one in six Daimler Mercedes-Benz passenger cars CKD production plants worldwide. It currnetly produces three passenger car models - the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class, along with Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi FUSO commercial vehicles. To date, the plant has have produced over 34,000 passenger cars and over 18,700 commercial vehicles.

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The plant was recently fitted with subassemblies and high voltage (HV) facilities to cater for the new S-Class. The commercial vehicle line also received an upgrade by relocating body shop and frame assembly. In total, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia invested RM18 million to accommodate these latest developments.

"In line with our strategy, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia continues to invest not just in Pekan, but also in our business as a whole. It is certainly a reflection of the encouraging demand we continue to receive from the Malaysian market. Our priority is to our customers and we remain committed to delivering vehicles of the best quality and providing world-class service," Folger added.