Sime Darby and Porsche have now jointly announced the expansion of the carmaker's assembly facility at Inokom, Sime Darby's vehicle production and assembly facility in Kulim, Kedah.

The larger facility is also rolling out a second modelÂ?the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid Coupe, which is the first Malaysian-assembled Porsche to be exported to Thailand.

Porsche's facility in Kulim Â? has now been expanded to 11,000 square metres Â? it was the first of its kind outside Europe when it opened in 2022.

"This is a significant milestone for us at Sime Darby, together with our partner Porsche, in unlocking new opportunities in the ASEAN region while affirming the capabilities of our highly skilled local talents. We remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering product consistency that meets the discerning demands of Porsche customers, expanding beyond the domestic market to our neighbouring country, Thailand," said Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson, Sime Darby's group chief executive officer (CEO).

"Today, we prepare for the future by considerably enhancing our site in Kulim, ensuring that this first regionally exported Cayenne fulfils our customers' demands and expectations," said Albrecht Reimold, member of the executive board for production at Porsche AG.

Local assembly facility for Porsche was designed and built with sustainability standards in mind. Solar panels with smart monitoring systems are installed on its roof to provide the power needed for operations; this contributes to reduced electricity consumption. Along with the footprint expansion, the capacity of these solar panels will soon be increased. There's also rainwater harvesting on-site.

The latest Cayenne S E-Hybrid gets a 3.0-litre V6 turbo engine with 353 PS paired with an electric motor rated at 176 PS. The total system output is 519 PS and 750 Nm of torque, good for 0-100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 263 km/h. The electric-only range is a useful 90 km in the WLTP cycle thanks to a 25.9 kWh battery.