If we bring up the topic of electric cars, one brand tends to come immediately to mind: American electric carmaker, Tesla. Founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning back in 2003 and now headed by South African billionaire Elon Musk, the marquee is most well-known for being among the earliest leading trailblazers in the electric vehicle segment, especially with the debut of the groundbreaking Tesla Roadster back in 2008.
And while the company already has a notable presence within Southeast Asia, most notably in neighbouring Singapore, Thailand, and upcoming investment ventures in Indonesia, our local shores have had to make do with Tesla cars that have been imported through the grey market through dealers who hold an Approved Permit (AP) for the longest time.
Tesla officially enters Malaysian market
Well, the wait for Tesla to grace Malaysian shores is finally over as it has been officially announced that the carmaker has received an official nod from the government to import their Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) into the country! As reported by local newswire agency BERNAMA, the approval was granted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti).
Given that fact, Tesla will now be working on establishing an official head office in Malaysia, which will naturally also include a number of showrooms that the brand dubs ‘experience centres’. Additionally, they will also be bringing their ‘Supercharger’ network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles nationwide.
“We are pleased by Tesla’s decision to establish its presence in the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in Malaysia.
“This demonstrates Tesla’s confidence in our economic fundamentals and conducive business environment,” said MITI Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz.
Malaysia Welcomes @Tesla! @MITIMalaysia has approved Tesla's application to import BEVs into Malaysia.
Tesla will establish a Head Office, Tesla Experience & Service Centres, and Supercharger network, simultaneously creating skilled & better paying jobs for M'sians. pic.twitter.com/BbQP7jNazX
— Tengku Zafrul 🇲🇾 (@tzafrul_aziz) March 1, 2023
More job opportunities in the BEV sector
The company’s expansion in the country is expected to create more job opportunities for skilled workers within the nascent BEV market in Malaysia, while also bolstering the participation of domestic companies in the Tesla ecosystem as well as EVs at large.
“We will also strategically leverage on our established electrical and electronics ecosystem to make Malaysia the preferred investment destination for technology related to electric mobility,” Zafrul adds.
Tesla’s application to import their BEV cars into Malaysia was made possible through assistance by MITI via the launch of the BEV Global Leaders initiative, which was introduced to encourage an uptick of local adoption rates for BEVs as well as the development of the BEV ecosystem domestically.
The company is also the very-first applicant of the initiative.
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