Malaysia’s new regs for CBU EVs boost development of local ecosystem, protect against dumping – Pekema

We’ve heard the Malaysian Automotive Association’s view on MITI’s new CBU EV policy, now here’s what parallel importer club Persatuan Pengimport dan Peniaga Kenderaan Melayu Malaysia (Pekema) thinks.

Before that, it has to be noted that Pekema members, who are open AP holders, are not heavily affected by MITI’s recent move as that’s reserved for franchise AP holders who bring in CBU cars for official distributors. It might even be a good thing for grey importers as buyers with less EV options might come back to more traditional ‘recon’ models. In the new car scene, Pekema is involved with the Dongfeng brand via Central Auto Distributors (CADB).

Pekema president Datuk Mohamed Nazari Noordin said that the new regulations for CBU EVs – which in a nutshell are CIF value (cost, insurance and freight; before taxes and margins) of no less than RM200,000 and a minimum power output of 180 kW (245 PS), effective July 1 – can accelerate the development of a local EV ecosystem, while strengthening the shift to CKD local assembly and technology transfer.

Nazari told Bernama in a recent interview that MITI’s move is an important step to ensure that the local automotive industry shifts to a higher value chain. He added that the move also aims to protect the local auto market from being a dumping ground for EVs, especially low priced ones from China with domestic incentives now facing excess stocks.

“Some models were supposed to be sold at a higher price but were sold for far cheaper because of excess stock. So, the government needs to protect the local industry from dumping,” he told Bernama, adding that for consumers, the EV market is expected to be split into two after the implementation of the new regulations – premium CBU and affordable CKD.

“In the short term, perhaps the choices will be reduced for certain segments, but in 12 to 24 months, affordable models will be back via CKD,” Nazari predicted, adding that CBU EV stock that are already in transit and in inventories – which are exempted from the new guidelines – are expected to be enough to last till the end of 2026.

He urged the government to speed up the approval of CKD assembly, besides giving a more flexible implementation period to the industry. The Pekema chief also suggests easier financing access for local vendors and the broadening of incentives including grants, tax exemption and human capital development.

“We hope that the government can give priority and fast-track CKD-related approvals as industry players are moving in that direction,” Nazari said. We’ve previously reported that Pekema’s CADB does have CKD plans – check out the Dongfeng 007 and Vigo EVs, which arrived after CADB’s first model, the Box.

Click on these links to read more on MITI’s new regulations for CBU EVs and what the brands are doing/will do with regards to CKD.

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