The local assembly of BYD cars in Malaysia will be taking place right in Proton’s own backyard.
In what is not a totally unexpected move, BYD has recently confirmed that it will be opening its very own local assembly facility in Malaysia. Set on a massive 600,000 square metre site, this new plant is currently scheduled to begin operations by the second half of 2026.
This new CKD facility of BYD’s will be located at Tanjung Malim, Perak — the same town that Proton calls home. It is however worth highlighting however that this plant will have no relation to DRB-Hicom and Geely’s Automotive Hi-Tech Valley (AHTV) project, and even the investment into this project will be solely be coming from the automaker themselves.
Following on from the company’s premiere ASEAN CKD site in Thailand, the Malaysian plant marks another key milestone in its regional expansion. As for what cars will be built here though, BYD has yet to reveal which model will be the first to roll off the line.
BYD presently sells six models in Malaysia, all of them fully electric and imported from China. these CBU models are currently exempted from import duty and excise duty, but they won’t be for long as the exemption only lasts until December 31st 2025.
“Malaysia has always been one of BYD’s most important markets in Southeast Asia, and today’s dual announcement of CKD and the new BYD Seal marks a new chapter in our journey here. With the strong support of Sime Motors, we are confident in deepening our roots in Malaysia and bringing world-class EV technology closer to local customers,” said Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia Pacific auto sales division.
“This commitment is not only about delivering innovative products, but also about investing in the future of Malaysia’s EV ecosystem — from local assembly, to talent development, and electric mobility,” he added.
BYD’s decision to assemble vehicles locally places it among an increasingly crowded field of automakers that have chosen Malaysia as a production hub for electrified vehicles. Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have already been producing EVs here for some time, while Chery has also started assembling its Omoda E5 in Kulim.
In fact, BYDs won’t even be the only tailpipe-less vehicle to roll out from Tanjung Malim. Such is as Proton themselves are set to be rolling out their e.MAS 7 and upcoming e.MAS 5 from its new EV production site over there as well.
