Kit Loong Tayaria Sdn Bhd has confirmed it has added a new tyre brand to its portfolio of exclusive distributorships – the Indonesia manufactured GT Radial brand of passenger car tyres.

Kit Loong Tayaria Sdn Bhd (KLT), the passenger tyre division of the Kit Loong Group, has announced that it has been appointed as the exclusive distributor in Peninsular Malaysia for the GT Radial brand of car tyres with effect from June 2020. The agreement covers sales to all retail networks in Peninsular Malaysia including KLT’s own Tayaria retail chain.

Jacob Chen, CEO of the Kit Loong Group, explained the thinking behind the move; “Access to a key ASEAN-manufactured brand such as GT Radial is a major advantage for us, as it offers us a significant opportunity to make further growth within the Malaysian passenger tyre sector. We also expect to be able to benefit from the OEM pull from Proton new models, which should create significant impetus within the local market.

“With GT Radial tyres being manufactured in South-East Asia, they are highly suited for the kind of usage conditions typically encountered in Malaysia,” he added. “Not only that, they also offer an excellent value-for-money option.”

In order to boost consumer awareness of the GT Radial brand within its target group, the KLT team has already started to promote the brand’s key communication message “PANDU DENGAN YAKIN” (Driving with Confidence) within its network as well as to consumers.

In addition, GT Radial has invited several professional media and automobile reviewers for tyre testing in order to increase the amount of information available to the general public.

In the meantime, KLT has also made sure its sales and marketing team are familiar with the GT Radial brand thanks to a sales orientation event and soft launch carried out on 5 June, 2020 at KLT’s head office in Petaling Jaya, at which local sales and admin staff as well as regional sales personnel from across Peninsular Malaysia and key executives from both KLT and GT Radial were in attendance via call-in.

Commenting on the partnership with KLT, Matthew Wai, GT Radial’s Malaysia Country Manager, said; “GT Radial is the largest integrated tyre manufacturer in South-East Asia and has become one of the world’s leading tyre brands. Kit Loong Tayaria has the most intensive independent retail network in Malaysia, and we feel our brand incorporates itself into Tayaria’s product portfolio like a hand into a well-fitting glove.

“The partnership between GT Radial and Kit Loong Tayaria offers both companies a huge opportunity to further strengthen their brand presence in the Malaysian market.”