BYD Has A New Plan For Malaysian-Made Cars, And It's Not Tanjung Malim

BYD has changed course on its Malaysian manufacturing strategy, dropping the planned Tanjung Malim facility and instead working with an established local CKD partner.

But there's an important distinction here: BYD isn't cancelling local assembly in Malaysia.

According to BYD Malaysia Managing Director Jacob Ma, the company is now working with an established local CKD partner that has the capacity and capabilities required to support BYD's local assembly operations.

And this doesn't sound like an arrangement that's only beginning to take shape.

Ma said discussions with the unnamed partner are already at a "very advanced stage", with the parties currently finalising the necessary documents before an official announcement is made.

He also reiterated that Malaysia remains an important market and a strategic part of BYD's future growth.

So, Why Drop Tanjung Malim?

Interestingly, Ma said the change wasn't because BYD had been stopped by a particular obstacle.

Instead, he described the switch to an established CKD partner as the "fastest option", while also saying the approach should benefit Malaysia's wider automotive ecosystem.

Sime Motors' Inokom vehicle assembly facility in Kulim spans around 200 acres and produces vehicles for several global marques.

There's another important detail too: BYD's localisation efforts apparently didn't begin with this change in strategy.

Ma said BYD had already been in ongoing discussions with Malaysian vendors to supply parts for local assembly, even before the decision was made to move away from its own Tanjung Malim plant.

In other words, the location and assembly arrangement may have changed, but BYD says its broader localisation plans for Malaysia have not.

How Did We Get Here?

BYD first announced plans for its own Malaysian CKD facility in August 2025, with the plant slated for Tanjung Malim and production originally targeted to begin in the second half of 2026.

But uncertainty around the project had been growing for months.

By August this year, MITI revealed it had yet to receive formal notification from BYD on whether the Tanjung Malim investment would proceed.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said at the time that whether BYD proceeded, postponed or altered the investment remained a commercial decision for the company.

Read: BYD Malaysia's Next Move Is Coming – Tanjung Malim Or Inokom?