This new Chinese battery production site in Kedah aims to create 1,000 jobs when fully up and running.
Aside from locally assembling Chinese cars, we might soon be seeing some locally-assembled Chinese EV batteries over here too. Such is as China’s Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co Ltd has recently announced plans open its first battery manufacturing plant in Kedah, with it being backed up by a massive investment of RM 1 billion into the project.
This new battery manufacturing facility operated under Unimx Technology Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. will be implemented in several phases at Kulim East Industrial Park, with groundbreaking expected to begin in the last quarter of 2024. This is to be the Chinese battery maker’s third production base after its Zhuhai factory and India site, with this project being expected to create over 1,000 local jobs when fully operational.
In a statement issued by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), it said the substantial RM 1 billion investment marks a significant milestone in the company’s global expansion strategy, towards enhancing its manufacturing capabilities to serve the increasing demand in the lithium-ion battery segment globally. “As a partner, we are committed to providing Zhuhai CosMX with the support and facilitation they need for the project to succeed, and we’re confident that their presence will have a positive impact on both the economy and rakyat,” MIDA chief executive officer Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid added.
Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz meanwhile noted that this new facility clearly affirms Malaysia’s position not only as a preferred investment destination for tech-based companies, but also as a country that is serious about the swift implementation of investors’ commitments. He further said the investment also aligns with the mission of our New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 to enhance our industries’ economic complexity, while helping to solidify Malaysia’s position as a key manufacturing and services hub for ASEAN and Asia.
It currently is still unknown as to what battery exactly that Zhuhai CosMX is aiming to produce in its Kedah plant, but the Chinese company is known as a global manufacturer of lithium ion batteries. In fact, in the automotive space at least, the battery maker has been officially designated as an official battery supplier for automakers like SAIC, Stellantis, GM, Jaguar Land Rover and more.
Worth highlighting here however that said batteries Zhuhai CosMX supplies to these automakers are of the 12V low voltage variety, instead of the high-voltage kind used to power the drive motors in EVs. What more is that going by the company’s official site too, the battery maker interestingly only produces Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) packs for electric vehicle applications currently.
