The much publicised in the last 24 hours Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) 2026 EV policy is not about protecting national automotive brands like Proton and Perodua, but rather about protecting the broader automotive ecosystem and encouraging local assembly (CKD).
Both Perodua and Proton are priced in a very different (low price point) and it looks like ……. in our evaluation ……. and you are reading it here first …….. the new minimum EV selling price position is structured to ‘push’ Chinese electric automotive brands to invest in local assembly and some form of technology training and local vendor development directed for new energy vehicles.
The requirement of a higher selling price for CBU electric vehicles (RM250k to RM300k) is designed to push new energy automotive brands from China to make locally assembled EVs an immediate priority.
Despite these goals to bring in more investment and increase Malaysian wages, this new policy has drawn a lot of debate in the past 24 hours, with critics arguing that protecting local players like Proton and Perodua might hinder their motivation to improve through competitive pressure. Again, both Proton and Perodua is not the objective here.
Zeekr, BYD, Great Wall Motor, Toyota, Denza, GAC, smart# and Tesla are probably scrambling to rethink their sales projections after July 2026 as their selling prices will have to rise and XPENG (only their luxury MPV is affected), MG, Volvo and TQ Wuling have started local assembly ….. so they are not affected.
So, while public sentiment often views these moves as protectionist, MITI’s objectives for this latest 2026 regulations should have been put into force starting January 1st 2027 and not done now …… mid year …… where it screws up all planning for these brands and their heavy investment in showrooms, manpower and branding.
Meanwhile, this latest RM250,000 floor price for CBU EVs will limit the Malaysian buyers choice and slow down EV adoption by making more affordable models from brands like BYD or Tesla significantly more expensive and out of reach for new EV adopters.
