Shanghai Diesel looks to Malaysian NG vehicle market

China-based natural gas (NG) and diesel engines manufacturer, Shanghai Diesel Engine Co. Ltd. (SEDC), is looking to set up an operation in Malaysia.

Its president Xiong Weiming said the company, which has supplied diesel engines to Thailand for the past two years, wants to spread its wings to Malaysia, given the increasing demand for natural gas powered vehicles in the country.

"We want to take advantage of the Malaysian government's move of encouraging vehicles to use natural gas as an alternative to petrol.

"The high demand and acceptance of our natural gas engine among many overseas customers has increased our confidence in developing the market in Malaysia," he told reporters after the third session of the World Chinese Entrepreneur Forum 2008, here Wednesday.

Xiong said the company had already received an order from a local company, Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Bhd, to supply 10 units of natural gas engines for trucks on a trial basis.

Headquartered in Shanghai, SEDC is involved in the design, development and manufacture as well as sales of diesel engines, components and generating sets along with the natural gas engine, digital motors electronic (DME) engines and hybrid engines.

The company has a 90 percent share of China's natural gas engine market for trucks and buses.