TOKYO: Suzuki Motor has closed a Malaysian motorcycle assembly plant after earlier slashing production due to weak demand and will now export the bikes from Japan.

The Japanese manufacturer had assembled scooters and other models at the site by installing engines and other core parts procured elsewhere. 

But the plant's annual output nearly halved to around 8,000 units in fiscal 2015, compared with fiscal 2013.

Efforts to raise efficiency bore little fruit owing to the facility's limited scale. So the company decided to focus on exporting lucrative larger models from Japan.

Suzuki plans to assemble 1.44 million motorcycles in fiscal 2016. The company has been struggling to boost sales in Asia, and its profitability remains low. - Nikkei Asian Review