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Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Excellence in Asia Pacific Automotive Industry

Posted on: Monday, 29 June 2009, 05:54 CDT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Automotive companies in the Asia Pacific region received top accolades at the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Automotive Awards banquet last week.

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The Awards, held annually, seek to recognize and honor outstanding performance by companies in the automotive industry in Asia Pacific.

The awards banquet was officiated by the Minister of International Trade & Industry, Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato' Mustapa Mohamed.

"2009 has been very challenging for the automotive industry due to the global financial crisis. Automotive companies across Asia Pacific have had to innovate and reinvent to rise to the challenge and increase their value proposition to stay on top of the game," said Mr. Kavan Mukhtyar, Partner & Head of the Automotive & Transportation Practice, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan.

He added that the recipients of the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Automotive Awards clearly demonstrated outstanding leadership in their own market segments.

"A common factor across all the award recipients is that they have achieved excellence by having a customer-centric approach in an extremely uncertain environment," he added.

Mr. Mukhtyar said that compact cars and environmentally-friendly vehicles are likely to be popular with consumers' in the future. "Automakers' focus for the future will be to develop low cost cars and engines that are fuel efficient and environmentally friendly," he said.

He noted that automakers globally are also investing in electric vehicles. Mr. Mukhtyar said that electric cars would be encouraged by Governments in Asia as they become more environment conscious and find ways to reduce their dependence on petrol and diesel.

Frost & Sullivan estimates that the Asia Pacific region could see some 169,000 electric cars by 2015 as compared to about 1,100 in 2008 as consumers become more environment-conscious.

However, he added that Governments in Asia Pacific may need to review their automotive policies to encourage development of alternate fuel-based vehicles.

Mr. Mukhtyar also predicts that Asian companies will have a bigger role to play once the global automotive market recovers. "There is likely to be more sourcing of components from the Asia Pacific region and companies may also relocate their plants to Asia from Europe or North America," he added.

He added that Governments in the Asia-Pacific region must react fast and be responsive to various changing trends in the automotive industry if they want to attract the next wave of automotive investments.

"There is a need for Governments to have a clear, focused and consistent automotive policy in place to address the upcoming opportunities in the automotive sector," he said.

Mr. Mukhtyar also said that the low cost car segment has become a reality with the unveiling of the Nano by the Tata Group. Mr. Mukhtyar predicts that the low cost cars segment will be one of the fastest growing vehicle segments in the next few years and could spur development and production for other low-cost parts.

Mr. Mukhtyar said that recipients of the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Automotive Awards were identified based on an in-depth research conducted by Frost & Sullivan's analysts. The award categories offered each year are carefully reviewed and evaluated to reflect the current market landscape and include new emerging trends.

The short-listed companies for the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Automotive Awards were evaluated on a variety of actual market performance indicators which include revenue growth; market share and growth in market share; leadership in product innovation; marketing strategy and business development strategy.

Schaeffler is the silver sponsor for the awards while DiGi is the networking partner. The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) and Korea Telematics Business Association (KOTBA) are the supporting organizations. Wall Street Journal Asia is the official newspaper and media partners include Business Today, Asean Autobiz and Automotive Electronics.

Saluting Asia Pacific's best

Frost & Sullivan congratulates all the outstanding recipients of the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Automotive Awards:

2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Automotive Awards Award Recipients Award Recipient Indonesia 1. Best Model of the Year (Indonesia) PT Honda Prospect Motor for Honda All New Jazz 2. Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Indonesia) PT Astra Otoparts Tbk 3. Automotive Finance Company of the Year (Indonesia) PT Adira Dinamika Multi Finance 4. Market Leadership Award PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Commercial Vehicles (Indonesia) Motors 5. Automotive Distributor of the Year (Indonesia) PT Toyota Astra Motor 6. Best Value-for-Money Model PT Kia Mobil Indonesia of the Year (Indonesia) for Kia New Picanto 7. Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year (Indonesia) PT Astra Honda Motor Japan 8. Best Model of the Year (Japan) Suzuki Motor Corporation for Suzuki Wagon R 9. Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Japan) Denso Corporation 10. Market Leadership Award Light Commercial Vehicles (Japan) Suzuki Motor Corporation 11. Market Leadership Award Commercial Vehicle Telematics (Japan) Toyota Motor Corporation 12. Product Innovation in Batteries for Hybrid/Electric Vehicles (Japan) Hitachi Ltd Korea 13. Best Model of the Year (Korea) Kia Motors Corporation for Kia Forte 14. Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Korea) Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd 15. Market Leadership Award Commercial Vehicles (Korea) Hyundai Motor Co 16. Best Value-for-Money Kia Motors Corporation Model of the Year (Korea) for Kia Morning 17. Business Development Strategy Leadership Award Car Navigation Systems (Korea) Thinkware System Corporation Malaysia 19. Best Model of the Year (Malaysia) Proton Holdings Bhd for Proton Saga 20. Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Malaysia) Ingress Corporation Bhd 21. Light Commercial Vehicle Automotive Corporation Company of the Year (Malaysia) (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 22. Best Value-for-Money Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Model of the Year (Malaysia) Bhd for Perodua Viva 23. Automotive Finance Company of the Year (Malaysia) Public Bank Bhd 24. Business Development Strategy Automotive Synergy Leadership Award Incorporated Sdn Bhd Car Navigation (Malaysia) Singapore 25. Automotive Component Manufacturer Armstrong Industrial of the Year (Singapore) Corporation Ltd Thailand 26. Best Model of the Year (Thailand) Honda Automobile Thailand Co Ltd for Honda City 27. Automotive Finance Company K-Auto Finance of the Year (Thailand) (Kasikorn Leasing) Co Ltd 28. Best Value-For-Money Pick-Up Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co Ltd Truck of the Year (Thailand) for Nissan Frontier Navara 2x4 Extra Cab 29. Market Leadership Award Commercial Vehicles (Thailand) Hino Motors (Thailand) Ltd 30. Automotive Distributor of the Year (Thailand) Honda Automobile Thailand Co Ltd 31. Best Pick-Up Toyota Motor Thailand Co Ltd for Truck of the Year (Thailand) Toyota Hilux Vigo Extra Cab 4x2 32. Best Value-for-Money Honda Automobile Thailand Co Ltd Model of the Year (Thailand) for Honda Jazz 33. Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year (Thailand) A.P Honda Co Ltd 34. Best Alternatively Powered Chevrolet Sales (Thailand) Passenger Car of the Year Ltd for Chevrolet Optra (Thailand) 35. Automotive Component Manufacturer of the Year (Thailand) Aapico Amata Co Ltd Asia Pacific 36. Automotive Company of the Year (Asia Pacific) Asian Honda Motor Co Ltd

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 35 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

Media Contact: Alice Chia Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific Phone: +603.6204.5899 Email: alice.chia@frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

Source: PR Newswire

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