Chinese EV carmakers bring their own parts, and Malaysian suppliers are watching from the kerb

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Malaysia’s car-parts makers risk being left on the sidelines of the electric vehicle (EV) boom, as Chinese carmakers favour imported components and their own supplier networks, the South China Morning Post ( SCMP) reported.

The squeeze is regional, with suppliers in Indonesia and Thailand also facing weaker demand for parts used in petrol and diesel cars while the barriers to entering EV supply chains remain high.

“The supply chain is very different between Japanese autos and Chinese EVs,” Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, executive director of the Centre of Economic and Law Studies in Jakarta, Indonesia told the Hong Kong newspaper.

Malaysia’s own experience shows how tricky it is, with BYD recently dropping plans for an assembly plant in Tanjung Malim after a dispute over export quotas and pricing conditions set by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, which defended the requirements as non-discriminatory.

The Chinese carmaker has since partnered contract assembler Inokom to assemble passenger vehicles at an existing facility in Kulim, Kedah.

Local value-add remains modest, with local news outlets reporting in March that domestically assembled EVs had just 20 to 30 per cent local content, compared with up to 70 per cent for foreign-branded cars with conventional engines.

Putrajaya has tried to bridge the gap, with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority bringing 23 local parts suppliers and 12 technology suppliers together with Chery in May 2025, resulting in four commercial agreements covering components, technology transfer and joint investment.

Analysts quoted by SCMP see servicing and hybrids, which pair a petrol engine with an electric motor, as a possible lifeline.

Aiman Abdullah, managing editor of Motoring Malaysia, said domestic carmakers’ electrification programmes were gradually building local engineering expertise, and that experience with the high-voltage systems in hybrids could help vendors move into EV components.

But suppliers still need clearer planning from Putrajaya and carmakers, he said, as vendors typically need six to 18 months to prepare for full-scale production while investments take about a decade to pay off.

“Investors need to see stability and focus in terms of policy before they take out their chequebooks,” he was quoted as saying.

Smaller firms may have the vision and some technical expertise but lack the money to break into EVs, according to Aiman who proposed a fund to help them scale up.

Elsewhere in the region, Thai suppliers are at a disadvantage on cost and proprietary technology, according to Krungsri Research, while Bhima urged Jakarta to use local-content rules to make EV investments absorb small local manufacturers.

Servicing offers another way in, though with limits, according to Teoh Jiun Ee, co-founder of used-car platform Carsome and CEO of Carsome Academy.

Malaysia already has a well-established ecosystem for conventional repairs such as bodywork, tyres and suspension, he said, but high-voltage systems, battery assessments and model-specific components are far more specialised.

Carsome can inspect EVs but cannot repair or replace individual battery modules, so it refers such cases to manufacturers, especially for cars still under warranty.

“For us, the broader opportunity is to develop a more mature used-EV ecosystem here, where vehicles can be assessed consistently and safely, and buyers have greater confidence in the condition of the cars they purchase,” Teoh was quoted as saying.

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吉隆坡，11月2日讯——据《南华早报》报道，由于中国汽车制造商更倾向于进口零部件和自有供应商网络，马来西亚的汽车零部件制造商可能面临被电动汽车热潮边缘化的风险。

供应紧张的局面具有地域性，印尼和泰国的供应商也面临着汽油和柴油汽车零部件需求疲软的困境，同时进入电动汽车供应链的门槛仍然很高。

“日本汽车和中国电动汽车的供应链非常不同，”印度尼西亚雅加达经济与法律研究中心执行主任比玛·尤迪斯蒂拉·阿迪内加拉告诉香港报纸。

马来西亚自身的经验表明，这有多么棘手。比亚迪最近放弃了在丹绒马林建设组装厂的计划，原因是与马来西亚投资、贸易和工业部就出口配额和定价条件发生了争议，该部辩称这些要求不具歧视性。

此后，这家中国汽车制造商与代工组装商 Inokom 合作，在吉打州居林的一家现有工厂组装乘用车。

本地增值仍然有限，当地新闻媒体在 3 月份报道称，国产电动汽车的本地化率仅为 20% 至 30%，而外国品牌传统发动机汽车的本地化率高达 70%。

布城已尝试弥合差距，马来西亚投资发展局于 2025 年 5 月促成 23 家本地零部件供应商和 12 家技术供应商与奇瑞汽车达成四项商业协议，涵盖零部件、技术转让和联合投资。

南华早报援引分析师的话说，维修服务和混合动力汽车（汽油发动机与电动机相结合）可能是一条出路。

马来西亚汽车杂志《Motoring Malaysia》的执行主编艾曼·阿卜杜拉表示，国内汽车制造商的电气化计划正在逐步建立本地工程技术专长，而混合动力汽车高压系统方面的经验可以帮助供应商进军电动汽车零部件领域。

但他表示，供应商仍然需要布城和汽车制造商制定更清晰的计划，因为供应商通常需要 6 到 18 个月的时间来准备全面生产，而投资大约需要十年才能获得回报。

据报道，他表示：“投资者需要看到政策方面的稳定性和重点，才会掏出支票簿。”

艾曼表示，规模较小的公司可能拥有远见和一些技术专长，但缺乏资金进入电动汽车领域，他提议设立一项基金来帮助他们扩大规模。

据 Krungsri Research 称，该地区其他地方的泰国供应商在成本和专有技术方面处于劣势，而 Bhima 则敦促雅加达利用本地化内容规则，使电动汽车投资能够吸纳小型本地制造商。

二手车平台 Carsome 的联合创始人兼 Carsome Academy 的首席执行官 Teoh Jiun Ee 表示，维修保养是另一种切入点，但也有其局限性。

他表示，马来西亚在车身、轮胎和悬架等传统维修方面已经建立了完善的生态系统，但高压系统、电池评估和特定车型部件则要专业得多。

Carsome 可以检查电动汽车，但不能维修或更换单个电池模块，因此会将此类情况转交给制造商，特别是对于仍在保修期内的汽车。

Teoh表示：“对我们来说，更广泛的机遇在于在这里发展一个更成熟的二手电动汽车生态系统，让车辆能够得到一致且安全的评估，让买家对他们购买的汽车状况更有信心。”

受华尔街抛售潮影响，马来西亚股市开盘下跌

受马来西亚国家银行加息预期提振，令吉开盘走高。

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