BYD Malaysia will announce its development plans regarding its Malaysian expansion by next week.
A halt in progress
Malaysian auto news outlet AutoBuzz reported that BYD Malaysia halted its plans to establish a local assembly plant in March this year. According to the publication, the brand’s plans for a plant in Tanjung Malim were halted after the Malaysian government announced new requirements for completely built-up (CBU) electric vehicles (EVs).
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) officially announced that its new CBU EV policy would take effect from July 2026. The new policy states that imported CBU EVs must meet the following requirements:
- Minimum declared cost of MYR 200,000 (AUD $68,645.86) including insurance and freight value
- Minimum power output of 180 kW
BYD’s models do not generate a minimum of 180 kW, while some of its models did not have the minimum declared cost of MYR 200,000.
At the time, BYD had plans to build a plant in Tanjung Malim but reconsidered when the government announced another set of regulations for local assembly. Local assembly regulations required 80 per cent of assembled vehicles to be exported, while the remaining 20 per cent would be sold domestically. Like its imported counterparts, these completely knocked-down (CKD) vehicles must have a minimum price of MYR 100,000 (AUD $34,322.93).
According to Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, MITI established these regulations so as to avoid disadvantaging the local market.
Coming soon
BYD remains interested in developing its relationships with local partners in Malaysia, Vice President Liu Xueliang told Bernama. The company previously explored a partnership with local company Sine Motors’ for a plant in Kulim. He told the publication to “wait another week” regarding an announcement with a local partner.
“Our development in Malaysia has been progressing very well. Very soon, we will announce our approach towards sustainable development,” the executive said.
“We will continue to explore, together with local partners, how we can better support the development of Malaysia’s new energy vehicle industry. Of course, our development in Malaysia has also been progressing very well. Very soon, we will announce our approach towards sustainable development,” he added.
The executive commented on the potential of Malaysia’s eastern region as a market for the brand.
“We believe East Malaysia still has significant room for development, but first, we hope to have suitable models for the East Malaysian market,” Liu said.
Liu clarified that BYD’s overall strategy for Malaysia targets the country entirely instead of a specific region.
Did you find this article interesting? Click the “heart” button above to give it a like!
