Malaysia's week had two stories with consequences: Chery's rear-axle recall and registration halt on the Omoda 5, and BYD's choice of a local assembly partner. Around them, brands lined up discounts for the Auto Car Expo on October 31 and November 1.

Omoda 5: recall and registration suspension

The axle separation reported last week has now led to a formal recall: Chery is recalling 8,878 Omoda 5 SUVs after the October 6 incident in Johor Bahru, where a 2023 car lost its rear axle and no one was hurt. Chery says welds on the rear-axle trailing arms in an affected batch may be too weak (details). It is the model's second axle-related recall, after a 2024 campaign covering 600 cars. The road transport department (JPJ) has temporarily suspended new Omoda 5 registrations and Chery says the C and H variants are covered; owners can check by VIN.

Local assembly and network

BYD has chosen Inokom Corporation, a Sime Motors subsidiary, as its CKD partner in Kulim, Kedah, after shelving its planned Tanjong Malim facility last month. A memorandum of understanding was signed in Shenzhen (also reported here); no models or timetable have been given. SAIC Motor Malaysia plans to launch the locally assembled MG ZS at the end of October, with estimated prices of RM105,000 for the 1.5 Turbo and RM115,000 for the Hybrid+. On the retail side, BYD opened its largest Sarawak centre in Miri and GWM added two outlets, taking its network to more than 40.

Expo pricing: ACE 2026

Most of the week's price news was show-specific:

  • Leapmotor C10 CKD: RM125,000 against a regular RM129,000. The B10, listed at RM118,800, comes with an RM11,188 package and RM4,000 insurance support, bringing it to RM114,800.
  • Jaecoo J7 PHEV: RM10,500 rebate, to RM148,300.
  • Jetour T2: RM2,000 off, to RM156,800.
  • Dongfeng Vigo: RM8,888 discount.
  • Zeekr 009: a free wallbox and up to RM6,000 in insurance support.

Products and unlaunched brands

GWM is taking bookings for the Wey G9 Hi4 HEV, adding a conventional hybrid to an MPV range whose plug-in version, launched in January, is expected to approach 2,000 deliveries. Wuling's Porta EV panel van went on sale at an estimated RM99,800 (300 km) and RM105,800 (400 km). Registration data show 21 Lepas, Luxeed R7 and iCaur V25 vehicles logged between May and September although none is on sale, and a camouflaged Luxeed R7 was filmed on a highway.

What it means

  • A second axle failure on the same model, not a discount, is the week's most consequential local event.
  • BYD's assembly plan has changed site and partner; the open questions are which models and when.
  • Show-linked discounts are concentrated on locally assembled or recently launched models; whether they hold after the expo is not yet known.