Strong local E&E ecosystem attracts Tesla to Malaysia — Tengku Zafrul

The strength of the electric and electronic (E&E) sector in the country has attracted Tesla to choose Malaysia, Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said.

He said the E&E as well as semiconductor sectors are vital components of any electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and this proved that Malaysia has a strong ecosystem to support EV manufacturing.

Asked on the estimated size of Tesla’s investment, Tengku Zafrul said it is yet to be finalised. “This is a private investment and we will wait,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd’s automation and digital forum series entitled 'Driving Business Thru Digitalisation and Automation-The Journey Together' here on 1st March.

Tengku Zafrul said Tesla will establish a head office in Malaysia, introduce Tesla experience centres and Tesla service centres and establish its supercharger network.

Currently, the nearest Tesla official service centre is located in Singapore and owners from the Greentech leasing programme have been sending their cars back to Hong Kong for major work.

Earlier in his speech, Tengku Zafrul said Miti has decided to review the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) to articulate a set of comprehensive strategies and action plans to ensure synergies at both the policy and industry levels.

“We want to create supportive ecosystems to help catalyse Malaysia’s industrial development into the future,” he said.

He said that post-review, NIMP 2030 would be the main reference document in charting the future of Malaysia’s industrial development until the year 2030.

According to a survey jointly conducted by Bizsphere and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Association, only 2.7% of SMEs were implementing industry 4.0 initiatives in certain processes of their production.

Meanwhile, 75% of SMEs had not taken any action despite some of them trying to understand more about industry 4.0.