PETALING JAYA: BYD Malaysia has confirmed that it will not proceed with plans to establish a completely knocked-down assembly plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak, but discussions with local vendors on potential assembly operations are at an advanced stage.
BYD Malaysia managing director Jacob Ma was quoted as saying the decision followed a change in strategy aimed at identifying the most suitable way for BYD to participate in Malaysia’s automotive ecosystem.
“We want to ensure BYD can move in tandem with the local automotive ecosystem. We started discussions with vendors in the country last year and want to see how we can work with them and become part of the ecosystem,” he was reported as saying.
Ma also reportedly said current vehicle stocks were sufficient, although supplies of certain models remained limited.
BYD was working closely with its distributors to meet customer demand, he added.
On vehicle imports from Indonesia, Ma said BYD had no immediate plans to source vehicles from the neighbouring country unless a particular model was unavailable in Malaysia and demand justified such imports, according to the report.
He was also quoted as saying that BYD’s production capacity planning should be viewed from a longer-term perspective of 10 to 20 years, in line with the company’s strategy to expand its manufacturing capacity in the region.
The latest development comes after BYD vice-president Liu Xueliang said on Sept 5 that the company would continue exploring cooperation with local partners.
