Malaysia moves to curb EV imports in blow to Chinese automakers

MALAYSIA will limit the entry of fully imported electric vehicles from July, a move that is set push out many mid-range Chinese cars from the country’s market.

The Ministry Of Investment, Trade and Industry issued a circular to car importers with new regulations that effectively increase the minimum retail price of fully imported EVs and also increase the minimum power output for such models, according to a statement on Wednesday. 

The cost of insurance and freight for the vehicles should be a minimum of RM200,000 (S$64,580), with minimum power output set to 180 kilowatts, the ministry said. 

Automotive website Paultan, which first reported the news, said retail prices of fully imported cars after taking into account duties and taxes could reach a minimum of RM300,000. 

The ministry said that the new policy replaces Malaysia’s previous EV import policy following the end of excise and import duty exemptions which ran from 2021 until December last year. Cars already imported by distributors will not be affected by the new rule, it said. 

By the definitions set out in the circular, China’s BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, would only be permitted to sell two of its seven models currently on offer in Malaysia, according to Paultan.

BYD is reconsidering its plans to set up an assembly plant in the South-east Asian country due to regulations that restrict the amount of locally assembled cars that can be sold domestically, The Edge Weekly reported in March.

Tesla also fully imports its models in Malaysia and currently sells all of its models at below RM300,000. 

The new regulations help buffer national carmakers Proton Holdings and Perodua, formally known as Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua, from Chinese competition as Malaysia looks to build its own EVs.

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China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group owns a 49.9 per cent stake in Proton and Proton EV models are closely modelled after Geely’s EVs. 

Malaysia’s moves come as the European Union, Mexico and Brazil all imposed tariffs that affect Chinese EV imports. 

Proton and Perodua’s first EV models have been competing against BYD’s entry-level models in Malaysia for the past two years, and are priced closer to RM100,000.

Proton introduced the e.MAS 5 late last year, which is priced at RM56,800 and is the most popular EV model in Malaysia so far in 2026. BLOOMBERG