Hyundai Staria MPVs assembled in Malaysia to be sold in Thailand

Quick look:

• With Malaysia designated as a regional production hub, Hyundai Motor is now exporting Malaysian-assembled Staria MPVs to Thailand.
• The export and distribution activities are handled by Hyundai Motor Malaysia, its subsidiary which began operations in 2026.

Although there were plans to assemble Hyundai passenger cars in Malaysia as far back as the mid-1990s, this did not start till 2001 with the Elantra at Oriental Assemblers (now Berjaya Assemblers) in Johor. A year later, the Inokom plant in Kedah also began assembly of the Atoz, which was sold as the Atos with Inokom branding.

In 2014, with Sime Motors taking over the Hyundai Motor franchise, assembly of the next generation of the Elantra was moved to Inokom (by then also owned by Sime Motors) and the i10 and Santa Fe would also be assembled there. Other Hyundai models assembled at Inokom were the Matrix and Getz also sold with the Inokom badge.

First exports from Malaysia
With the ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement (AFTA) permitting duty-free exchange of goods and services between ASEAN countries, Hyundai Motor decided to export some its Elantra production at Inokom to Thailand in 2014, marking the first time the Korean automaker exported vehicles from Malaysia.

While exports were not significant in the following years, Hyundai Motor has now designated Malaysia as a regional assembly and supply hub within the Hyundai Motor global network. Responsibility for managing this activity is undertaken by Hyundai Motor Malaysia which will handle cross-border distribution besides retail supply to the Malaysian market.

The export initiative has commenced with the first shipment of Staria MPVs to Thailand from Inokom. The version exported is the 10-seater which will compete against established models in the Thai market where demand for large people-movers remains high in both corporate and private segments.

Investment in Malaysia’s development
“The export of the Hyundai Staria to Thailand marks the beginning of Malaysia being an export hub for Hyundai. This is a milestone we are proud of, as it reflects our brand’s unwavering commitment to deliver vehicles of global quality, while continuing to invest in Malaysia’s growth and development. Driven by our tagline ‘Sentiasa di sisi anda’, we are just getting started,” said Jahabarnisa Haja Mohideen, Managing Director, Hyundai Motor Malaysia.

The export program follows the expansion of the Staria line-up in the Malaysian market. The MPV, also available in 7-seater configuration, is assembled with Hyundai Motor’s technical and production partnership with Inokom, which began operations in 1997. In its earlier years, Inokom also had Hyundai Motor as a shareholder.

Locally-assembled Hyundai Staria roll-out at Inokom