Malaysian officials recently met with Tesla executives to discuss the company's development plans in Malaysia.
According to The Edge Malaysia, Malaysia's Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), Tengku Zafrul Aziz stated that Malaysia's collaboration with Tesla is expected to help transform the country into Southeast Asia's green technology hub. This meeting follows reports indicating that Tesla has shelved its plans to build a factory in Southeast Asia.
Zafrul emphasized that Tesla is highly supportive of the local supply chain. The company plans to work with nine Malaysian firms to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and will also collaborate with Malaysian universities to train talent and facilitate knowledge transfer.
In early August 2024, Thai media outlet The Nation first reported that Tesla's plan to build a factory in Thailand had been shelved, with no plans to establish a factory elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Based on Zafrul's statements, the discussions between Malaysian officials and Tesla executives appear to have excluded plans for factory construction. Instead, the focus was on Malaysia's transition to EVs.
Tesla's investment in Malaysia has reached US$13.5 million. The company has installed 52 Supercharger stations, 54 wall connector AC chargers, and over 4,500 home charging stations in Peninsular Malaysia.
Zafrul mentioned that the discussions centered on Malaysia's "Global BEV Approved Permit Scheme." This initiative aims to accelerate Malaysia's EV transition by allowing foreign EV companies to sell vehicles in Malaysia without going through the existing permit system, thereby lowering vehicle prices.
Malaysia plans to build 10,000 charging stations by 2025 and offer tax incentives to participating companies. The Malaysian government aims to have 125,000 EVs on the road by 2030.
Government data shows that over 10,000 EVs were registered in Malaysia in the first half of 2024, representing a 142% increase. BYD and Tesla delivered 4,368 and 3,079 vehicles, respectively, dominating the top five most popular models. In 2023, a total of 13,000 EVs were registered in the country.
Despite the significant growth in Malaysia's EV market, overall development is still relatively slow. EV registrations in 2022 accounted for only 0.42% of the total automotive market. However, the percentage increased to 1.6% in 2023 and rose to 2.6% in the first half of 2024.
