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On 8th October, in Batu Kawan, in the Penang Region, Malaysia, Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting opened a new factory, which will produce headlights and lamps for the automobile industry.

The new plant will replace the previous one in Bayan Lepas, leading to an increase in the yearly production of parts from 1.7 million to 2.2 million, with a possibility of further development, so that the target production of 2.9 million parts per year is reached. The factory has been equipped with state of the art machinery and will employ cutting edge technologies guaranteeing the highest quality and technological standards capable of satisfying the needs of the premium car sector.

The plant covers 56,600 square meters, of which 26,600 is allotted for production, currently employing 1,000 people. In the future, the number of workers might grow by another 50%, which will also lead to increased effectiveness of production.

In the face of a very dynamic market situation and recent global automobile market shuffles, the ASEAN area is becoming an increasingly important market both on account of its internal demand and the fact that it hosts various production branches directed towards the needs of the entire Asian market, especially Japan.

The ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) market consists of 10 countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia). It is inhabited by about 600 million people (2011 estimate, source: ASEAN Economic Community Chartbook 2012) and spreads out on the area of about 4.5 million square kilometres. Its gross domestic product exceeds $2,200 billion (2011 estimate, source: ASEAN Economic Community Chartbook 2012). In 2012, in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia alone more than 3 million new cars were registered, whereas the total car fleet in those countries amounts to over 38 million vehicles.

Enhancing the market position of Automotive Lighting in this strategic region by opening the new Magneti Marelli plant is aimed at satisfying customer needs both on the ASEAN market itself, as well as in Japan. Within the next five years, the company plans to increase the average annual production in Malaysia by 15% .

The Malaysian factory in Batu Kawan will mainly focus on the production of headlights, back lights and fog lamps as well as on the development of the LED technology. The production will be aimed at the needs of Japanese consignees (Honda, Mazda and Suzuki) and those from the ASEAN market (Proton & Perodua in Malaysia, Ford and GM in Thailand and Indonesia).

"On the constantly changing automobile market," stated Eugenio Razelli, Marelli's C.E.O.,"alongside China and India emerges a new production area and a very interesting market consisting of the ASEAN countries. By opening a new manufacturing plant in Malaysia, Magnetli Marelli confirms its readiness to use the opportunity given by this new, dynamically developing market and to increase production and implement new technologies, thus confirming the company's strategic position, not only in the automotive lighting industry, in entire Asia."

Automotive Lighting develops technologically advanced solutions for car lighting. The Malaysian plant will also produce LED lamps characterised by their stylish look, ensuring safety and reduced energy consumption.

The technological evolution concerning the LED and Xenon solution – with a 35 watt configuration and a new 25 watt solution – opened new horizons in the subject of safety, decreasing energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and at the same time offering new aesthetic and stylistic solutions. Research conducted by Automotive Lighting led to the conclusion that a cars employing Xenon technology for passing and driving beams, and LED technology for the remaining front and back lighting, might save up to 80 watt and 2 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometre in relation to traditional halogen lamps, and also provide higher standard and safety while driving.

With over €2 billion, compared to €5.8 billion Magneti Marelli's total turnover, 22 million headlights and 22 million lamps per year, Automotive Lighting is one of the main Magneti Marelli business players and one of the world leaders in automotive lighting production. Automotive Lighting's global presence is confirmed by its 23 facilities located and closely cooperating with its customers in 15 countries such as Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the United States. The company's research centres dedicated to developing innovative technological solutions are situated in Europe (Italy and Germany) and in the United States.

Some of the main innovations introduced to the automobile market by Automotive Lighting were the first Xenon lamps created in 1991, dynamically adjusted Xenon lights of 2003, or the first lamp with an active infra-red module of 2005. The true revolution in the lighting technology was brought by the first full-LED lamp in the world, whose production was started by Automotive Lighting in 2008 (for the Audi R8). It was the first car lamp equipped with an active infra-red night vision system. In 2010 the company started producing the first full-LED lamp with an adaptive lighting feature (for the Mercedes Benz CLS).

Milan (Italy), Batu Kawan (Penang, Malaysia)– 8th October 2013.