Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has announced that a senior Tesla official will arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 22 to clarify the company’s investment plans in the country.
Tesla has so far stayed silent on the matter.
Earlier, Bernama reported that Zafrul had highlighted the importance of global electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, such as Tesla, whom he said are crucial for the growth of Malaysia’s EV ecosystem.
He said his ministry’s strategic approach to attracting automotive investments was to facilitate EV imports to build critical mass in the domestic market. This is expected to lead to the establishment of at least 10,000 public charging stations.
He also stated that once this critical mass is achieved, Malaysia aims to attract EV manufacturers to set up assembly or manufacturing plants in the country. This development would boost local SMEs, particularly in the semiconductor sector, which is integral to EV production.
Despite the uncertainty regarding a factory, Tesla has already established four “experience centres” in Malaysia and installed 52 DC fast chargers across several states, surpassing initial targets.
Media reports in the last few days indicated that Tesla had decided to cancel plans to build a factory each in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim weighed in on the topic on Friday, saying Tesla had made a business decision to withdraw expansion in Southeast Asia because it had suffered losses as a result of intense competition from Chinese car makers who are flocking into the region.
