Or more specifically, why are Chinese EVs selling for double over here than they are back in China?
While EVs with their expensive battery packs were traditionally thought of as being the pricier vehicle to purchase relative to their ICE counterparts, thanks to the ongoing tax free incentives for EVs over here however, all these all-electric vehicles that are currently being launched locally now instead seem like a pretty good value for money for the Malaysian motorist.
It is after all previously but a pipe dream to even think that one could get a supercar-rivalling sports sedan for the price of a new Honda Civic, or simply a brand spanking new officially-imported Porsche SUV for under half-a-million ringgit.
Though while it may be undeniable that EVs are offering Malaysians a lot more for their money (performance, refinement, tech etc.), the thought of these new EVs being an actual bargain to buy unfortunately completely falls apart after seeing what these same models currently cost elsewhere in the world right now. And this is especially true for the EVs from China, as those who have seen what some of these cars currently cost back in their home market may likely feel like the Chinese automakers here are to be laughing all the way to the bank, from the absolutely astronomical markup they have placed on their cars over here.
Now rather handily here, Proton had previously shared a slide during the e.MAS 7 media preview illustrating this exact point. The 10,000+ Malaysians who bought a BYD Atto 3 for instance have apparently paid nearly double what the Chinese buyer will pay for one of these e-SUVs, while literal 10s of Neta X owners over here paid nearly 120% more than what the all-electric crossover currently costs back in its home market.
So why is it then that even with the government not taking their cut with these Chinese EVs right now, are they still to be so much more expensive over here than back where they came from? Are the automakers actually taking the piss and just raking in the profits while Malaysians think they’re getting a good deal, or is there a genuine reason for these EVs to suddenly double in price after rolling off the boat in Port Klang from China?
In coming to the defence of the automakers first, it is worth noting that the examples seen in the Proton slide above all are priced back in its home market. And with the RM 100,000 CKD floor policy still in place, it is technically not legally possible for those made-in-China EVs to be sold over here below that threshold.
What more is that there is undoubtably a greater expense incurred by the automaker for having to ship the cars over here from China, relative to just within its borders. Being rather generous to the automakers here too, it could further be argued on their behalf that there are likely other miscellaneous expenditure (in the form of other local taxes, regulatory approval etc.) involved in eventually selling their EVs over here.
Being a cynic for a minute here however, unless each and every China-made EV is flown in on its own private jet (or some shady ministry is getting a fat cheque under the table somewhere), the additional expense of getting these cars to Malaysia likely accounts for only a tiny fraction of the massive markup that has been placed on them over here.
Circling back to the aforementioned CKD price floor too, it does beg the question as to why the automakers couldn’t just price Now sure, it really does not make much sense for BYD to sell their an Atto 3 for the same price as the Dolphin over here, but it is similarly also nonsense for the Malaysian Atto 3 buyer to be paying double what the Chinese are paying for theirs right?
Now it is perhaps finally time here to acknowledge that a large part as to why the Chinese EVs are perceived to be so cheap in their home market right now is because there is currently a price war back there, with every automaker trying to outdo each other in a race to the price bottom. And here is where cynical might just argue that we outside of China are essentially footing the bill for this battle, from happily swallowing the outrageous markups they are currently able to get away with charging…
