Clarion Malaysia

A driver starts the engine and the dashboard instantly comes to life: navigation, entertainment, and vehicle diagnostics seamlessly integrated, delivering a secure, enjoyable and personal experience. This infotainment system is the digital nerve center of the car, designed to keep drivers connected and in control.

Clarion Malaysia develops this type of cutting-edge cockpit technology for the global market. One of its latest infotainment platforms supports more than 28 variants tailored for different geographies and languages. The advanced system integrates a high-definition touchscreen, intelligent software and automated solutions for seamless connectivity, redefining the driving experience for millions of vehicles on the road today.

“We’ve been around for 55 years and, initially, our line of business was assembling car stereos,” said T.K. Tan, managing director of Clarion Malaysia. “Today, we are involved in the research and development of advanced cockpit technology, wireless communication, as well as sensor fusion software, actuators and sensors for cars.”

Managing complexity across thousands of components, coding variations, and evolving mechanical and software design requirements can be overwhelming. And Clarion Malaysia has found a way to streamline these tasks, thanks to Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform. 

The automotive industry is moving fast, and staying competitive means embracing new technologies, developing longer lasting, more durable products, and adhering to stricter safety regulations. Infotainment systems have evolved from simple radios and CD players to smart, connected digital dashboards. In Malaysia, consumers now expect seamless smartphone integration (Apple CarPlay, Android Auto), voice commands, and real-time navigation. To keep pace, local and global automakers now offer AI-powered infotainment, digital cockpits, and cloud updates, even in mid-range car models. As demand for electric vehicles and smart mobility grows, infotainment is becoming central to Malaysia’s connected car future, supporting government goals around smart cities and digital transformation.

Clarion Malaysia plays an important role in this by integrating advanced driver assistance and automated systems, sensor fusion, and cybersecurity into its next-generation cockpit platforms. It uses Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and its modeling and simulation solutions to tackle the innate challenges that come with software-driven development.

“A standard program has about six million lines of code today, and there are usually thousands of bugs to fix,” Tan said. “CATIA Magic's virtual testing and simulation allow us to fine-tune system performance, ensuring seamless integration between software and hardware before physical prototypes are being built. This speeds up development but also improves overall system reliability and compliance with safety standards.” 

As the automotive industry shifts to electric vehicles (EVs), durability and long-term reliability are becoming critical benchmarks. Automakers are setting ambitious targets for vehicle longevity, pushing suppliers like Clarion Malaysia to develop infotainment systems that can match longer warranties while maintaining peak performance. Clarion Malaysia’s adoption of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform connects the entire product lifecycle, from inception to use, to improve visibility at every stage.

“EVs will be heading towards one million kilometer and ten-year warranties as opposed to the 100,000-kilometer, shorter warranties we’re used to today with combustion engines,” Tan said. “We also have new technology requirements such as digital cockpits, combining artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality displays, multi-screen setups, and advanced human-machine interfaces. These technologies provide personalized user experiences, real-time traffic updates, streaming content, driver assistance, and connect vehicle ecosystems.”

Through the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and DELMIAWorks, there is greater synergy between model requirements, behaviors, architecture, and performance across disciplines (mechanical, electrical, software). This helps detect design issues early, improve traceability, and accelerate decision-making. With ENOVIA POWER’BY, Clarion Malaysia can connect its Altium engineering CAD designs and associated data to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, fully integrating its electrical designs to other connected mechanical CAD designs and systems.  

“Before, we had multiple systems, and everybody needed to do a different job,” said Ker Lin Chuah, ERP specialist and project lead at Clarion Malaysia. “During the engineering and design process, the team mixed up different versions of infotainment systems. Nobody knew the latest updates and this resulted in manual reconciliation and wasted time in meetings. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform consolidates data, tools, and processes into a single collaborative environment, breaking down silos across departments such as R&D, engineering, manufacturing, procurement, and quality.”

Today, the company manages product changes with ENOVIA, ensuring production data is synchronized with the latest design updates. With multiple engineers working on each project, ENOVIA’s governance tools make sure that all team members work with the most current version of a part, reducing costly rework.

“The data is well managed by revision control, and we always have the latest data and 3D models we should be working with,” said Sahila Binti Sapiee, an R&D mechanical engineer at Clarion Malaysia. “It’s become much easier for us to keep track.”

Beyond product development, Clarion Malaysia also prioritizes the sales experience for its customers. With a centralized platform, sales employees have instant access to accurate information about the manufacturing status of orders, which helps to avoid delays, inconsistencies, and unnecessary administrative work.

“Sales orders, forecasts, shipment documentation, and invoices are all managed in one platform, which is much more convenient,” said Alia Maisara, a sales admin executive at Clarion Malaysia.

The company also faces industry-wide supply chain challenges, including semiconductor shortages and fluctuating raw material costs. Data intelligence from supply chain and product lifecycle management data will help Clarion Malaysia build faster and more accurate supply chain strategies, helping to anticipate and mitigate potential disruptions.

“With all the changes happening in the automotive industry, we need to be adaptable as a Tier-one supplier,” Tan said. “The 3DEXPERIENCE platform integrates product development and supply chain management tools, which helps us manage sourcing, quality, lead times and costs more effectively. It allows us to balance flexibility with efficiency so we’re able to find alternative solutions in case one of our suppliers experiences shortages or delays.”

Clarion Malaysia isn’t just keeping up with the latest technology; it’s thinking ahead. The company is now focusing on making its infotainment systems even smarter and is exploring new avenues into chip-level integration to create higher performance hardware. To get there, Clarion Malaysia is teaming up with chip manufacturers and implementing strategies to efficiently scale its operation.

“We intend to grow our revenue by about four to six times with our existing workforce of 500 people,” Tan said. “To do that, automation will have to take the front seat. With enough data, I will know where my bottleneck is, where the integration of automation is going to start, and how to plan the whole process. We will be working with Dassault Systèmes to leverage model-based systems engineering (MBSE), AI and virtual twin technology to its fullest potential.”

Vehicles are increasingly adopting advanced systems including vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology – a wireless communication system that allows vehicles to communicate with surrounding entities. Thanks to MBSE delivered by CATIA Magic’s SysML modeling and ENOVIA’s collaboration capabilities, Clarion Malaysia will be able to streamline development, reduce coding errors, and resolve integration issues within complex systems of systems. 

“As requirements get more complicated, we’ll rely on MBSE to capture all customer requirements and make sure that chips are coded properly,” Tan said. “This would otherwise require a lot of man-hours from our R&D team to fix likely bugs and issues that arise from initial coding.”

Looking ahead, personalization will also prove a big hurdle. As drivers expect more tailored experiences, Clarion Malaysia must balance flexibility and added complexity without slowing things down.

“We have to give our customers what they want,” Tan said. “But the more we move away from standardized products, the more work we have to do in the back end. What is great about virtual twins and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is that it encompasses all the development and manufacturing that we are doing within one integrated solution, and that allows us to innovate faster and bring the best possible technology to market.”