Will this move bring selling prices of BYD electric cars down for Malaysians

Yes, BYD will start local assembly with Sime Darby. Last year, in February, MITI (ministry of international trade and industry) already hinted to BYD and Sime Motors to look into local assembly for BYD vehicles to take advantage of vehicle tax breaks.

Yes, BYD will soon bring in their all new hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles to sell in Malaysia and this will give Honda and Toyota tough competition as they are currently the leaders in hybrid vehicles in Malaysia.

Strong rumours suggest the arrival of the BYD Qin L PHEV, (cabin pictured below) which is powered by its new 5th generation DM system. This PHEV sedan is said to achieve up to 2,100 km on a full tank and charge.

This BYD PHEV sedan has a 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated engine outputting 99 hp and 126 Nm torque. The EV portion on the other hand sees for lower-spec variants to feature a 10.08 kWh LFP battery and a 120 kW drive motor, while the higher-end trims bumps the motor and battery specs to 160 kW and 15.874 kWh respectively.

BYD currently claims for the lesser specs of Qin L to be capable of 80 km of fully-electric driving, while higher-end trims be achieving 120 km.

Then there is the BYD Shark pickup truck which is already selling well in South America and Africa. This will be launched in Malaysia with a hybrid powertrain to take on heritage best sellers from Japan and America.

But it is the BYD Sealion Hybrid that Malaysians will want. Why? Well, the BYD Sealion 6 DM-i Super Hybrid is a groundbreaking vehicle that merges advanced plug-in hybrid technology with the innovative BYD Blade Battery.

Launched in Thailand in August 2024, for RM119k you get a small 1.5L petrol engine with a large electric motor and Blade battery pack that delivers 100km of claimed electric driving range which means you only use petrol when truly needed.