Claims that all electric vehicles (EVs) in Malaysia will become expensive following the reimplementation of import duties on completely built-up (CBU) EVs from July are inaccurate, according to Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin.
He said consumers would still be able to purchase reasonably priced EVs through locally assembled completely knocked down (CKD) models, which are expected to remain within the RM100,000 to RM200,000 price range.
Sim explained that price increases would mainly affect premium imported EV models that are fully brought in from overseas and do not have sufficient sales volume to justify local assembly operations in Malaysia.
“CKD EVs will continue offering more affordable choices for consumers, including models such as Proton e.MAS, Perodua’s QEV project and vehicles from Chery,” he told reporters after visiting three factories on Friday.
He added that several Chinese EV brands, including Zeekr, are also planning to begin local assembly operations in Malaysia, further expanding affordable EV options for buyers.
“As such, claims that all EVs will become expensive are not accurate because consumers will still have many reasonably priced alternatives,” he said.
Sim said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) aims to strengthen policies encouraging CKD EV production as part of efforts to localise the country’s automotive industry after the expiry of EV CBU import duty exemptions beginning July.
According to him, the government’s automotive policy remains focused on developing the domestic supply chain while reducing reliance on imported CBU EVs that provide limited economic spillover to the local market.
He stressed that the reintroduction of import duties, sales tax and excise duties on EV CBUs should not be viewed as a new tax measure, but rather a return to the original taxation structure after the end of a four-year incentive period.
“That is why our policy encourages local assembly or CKD operations. We want companies to establish factories in Malaysia, localise their operations and collaborate with local vendors to create more job opportunities,” he said.
Previously, MITI announced that all imported EV CBUs would be subject to two main conditions beginning July 1, including a revised minimum motor power requirement from 200kW to 180kW and a minimum cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value of RM200,000.
