This week BYD was reported to be reassessing its plan to open a CKD vehicle assembly plant in Tanjong Malim due to conditions imposed by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). Yesterday, MITI issued an official statement clarifying this issue and denying several things that were reported to have discouraged BYD.
MITI stressed that all conditions imposed on BYD are general policies that apply to all new automotive investors. They are not discrimination against the company. MITI denied reports that the minimum price of RM200,000 on vehicles produced was instead RM100,000 for CKD models.
Meanwhile, domestic sales are limited to a maximum of 10,000 units per year, equivalent to 20% of the factory’s production capacity to ensure that investments truly support exports. These two conditions ensure that local assembly focuses on the high-value vehicle segment and does not affect the market of national companies such as Proton and Perodua.
