Malaysia’s Berjaya Corp has agreed with China’s BYD Auto Company to explore opportunities to assemble the latter’s F0 passenger car for sales across south-east Asia. The memorandum of understanding lasts for six months, by which time a decision is expected to be made.
Hong Kong-listed BYD, headquartered Shenzen, sells the 1L car in China for between USD 5,000-7,000. If the project goes ahead, Berjaya would be the sole distributor and a partner in a jointly-owned assembly operation in Rawang, where it has set aside 100 acres of land.
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A major hurdle to be overcome is obtaining a license from the government, which has frozen the issuance of new licenses for the assembly of cars with engines of less than 1.8L in capacity under its new National automotive Policy (NAP).
Berjaya’s executive director Francis Lee is confident of obtaining an assembly licence as the company’s ultimate aim is to develop into an ASEAN export hub for BYD.
Tony Pugliese
