National Press Release

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

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    Media Contact:

    Alice Chia
    Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific

    Phone: +603.6204.5899
    Email: alice.chia@frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan