Tesla never said it will open factory in Malaysia, says Tengku Zafrul

 

Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said Tesla remains part of a government initiative aimed at boosting the country’s electric vehicle ecosystem.

PETALING JAYA: 

Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz says US electric car maker Tesla had never announced any plans to build a factory in Malaysia.

On a report by Thai daily The Nation that Tesla has abandoned its plans to build factories in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Tengku Zafrul pointed out that the report only cited anonymous sources and did not contain any official confirmation from Tesla.

The ministry has never announced that Tesla will open a factory in Malaysia. While we have had discussions with (Tesla CEO) Elon Musk about attracting investment, Tesla has never committed to opening a factory here,

 he said in a statement.

Tengku Zafrul also said Tesla is part of Malaysia’s Battery Electric Vehicle Global Leaders initiative, a government policy aimed at boosting the country’s EV ecosystem.

Among its conditions are installing at least 50 ultra-fast EV chargers with a capacity of more than 180 kWh, ensuring that at least 30% of the ultra-fast EV chargers developed in Malaysia are open for public use, and collaborating with at least 10 local companies in developing the EV charging service industry ecosystem.

The purpose of this initiative is to increase the charging network for local EV owners and to boost the participation of local companies in the EV charging ecosystem,

 he said.

“Countries like China, Hong Kong and Norway have accelerated their transition to EVs through similar programmes, and when this happens, many local SMEs benefit from participating in the EV ecosystem.

So far, only Tesla has applied for and been approved to participate in this initiative, but we welcome other EV manufacturers to join.

He said Malaysian manufacturers also support Tesla’s global supply chain by supplying spare parts, components and factory automation systems to them.

Tengku Zafrul said the country’s strategy to attract investment in the automotive industry is not limited to Tesla alone, adding that the country attracted RM24.55 billion worth of investment in EV-related manufacturing activities from companies such as Chery, Gemilang Coachwork, and Samsung SDI Energy from 2022 up to the first quarter of 2024.

In addition to investments in the automotive sector, he said, the government is attracting investments in various other sectors.

For the first quarter of 2024 alone, approved investments amounted to RM83.7 billion, an increase of 13% compared to last year. The ministry will continue to strive to attract quality investments to create more jobs for Malaysians,

 he said.

Yesterday, The Nation, quoting a Thai government source, reported that Tesla had scuppered plans to set up EV factories in the region.

The source said the firm is only discussing charging stations, with the factory plans suspended worldwide except for China, the US and Germany. The decision was part of Tesla’s withdrawal of investment across Asia and beyond.

In July last year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced large-scale investments from Tesla and one of Musk’s other hi-tech ventures, SpaceX, in Malaysia, which Anwar said would create tens of thousands of high-value jobs.

Anwar also said Tesla would set up its Malaysian headquarters and service centres in Selangor. - FMT