BYD has cancelled its plan to build a local assembly (CKD) plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak, which was originally announced last August. The cancellation was officially confirmed by the Managing Director of BYD Malaysia, Jacob Ma, during a media event last night, which also saw the local unveiling of the BYD Atto 3 Performance.
However, BYD will still establish a CKD operation in Malaysia in collaboration with an “established local CKD partner”. According to Jacob, the unnamed partner has the capacity and capability to meet BYD’s requirements for local assembly operations.
He further noted that discussions between both parties have already reached “a very advanced stage” and BYD will make an official announcement once everything is finalised. During the media Q&A session, Jacob also revealed that the company has been in talks with local vendors since last year to integrate with Malaysia’s automotive ecosystem.
All signs point to Inokom in Kulim
For now, the most obvious candidate for BYD’s contract assembly operations in Malaysia is Inokom. The company is a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motors that provides contract manufacturing services and already serves several major brands, including BMW, Chery, Hyundai, Mazda, Mini, Kia, and Porsche.
One of the strongest indicators occurred back in May, when the Vice President of BYD and GM of BYD APAC Auto Sales Division, Liu Xueliang, visited Inokom’s assembly plant in Kulim, Kedah. More recently, Sime Darby Motors’ leadership team travelled to BYD’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China, to strengthen collaboration, facilitate knowledge transfer, and discuss strategic growth for BYD in Malaysia.
CBU stocks remain sufficient
On a related note, the Managing Director of BYD Sime Motors, Adeline Lew, stated that the company has enough stock of fully imported (CBU) units to meet market demand until CKD operations begin. However, she pointed out that stock availability varies by model, and BYD Sime Motors will do its best to accommodate customer requests.
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