BYD has selected Inokom Corporation as its local completely knocked-down (CKD) assembly partner in Malaysia, advancing plans to build vehicles in the Southeast Asian market. The companies formalized the arrangement with a memorandum of understanding signed at BYD’s global headquarters in Shenzhen. They have not yet named the models to be assembled or given a production timetable.
Inokom, based in Kulim, Kedah, is part of Sime Darby and already assembles vehicles for several international automakers. Sime Motors, another Sime Darby unit, distributes BYD vehicles in Malaysia. BYD said its choice followed an evaluation of local market conditions and manufacturing capabilities, including Inokom’s facilities, workforce and supply chain.
The partnership follows a change in BYD’s approach. The company announced a Malaysian CKD plant plan in August 2025, with production then expected in 2026. The Edge reported in September that BYD had dropped a plan for its own facility in Tanjung Malim, Perak, while keeping its local assembly ambitions. An earlier report said the original project was tied to exporting as much as 80% of output, with the remainder intended for the domestic market at prices above RM200,000 per vehicle.
Local assembly could help BYD serve Malaysia under rules that took effect July 1. Imported fully built battery EVs must have a declared CIF value of at least RM200,000 (about US$48,980) and output of at least 180 kW, or 245 hp. The value threshold applies to import value, not retail price, and some of BYD’s best-selling Malaysian EVs sell for less than RM200,000. BYD entered the country’s passenger-car market in December 2022 with the Atto 3. It is also exploring electric-bus assembly and manufacturing in Perak with local company Bus Cap Berhad.