On April 21, 2026, China EV100 and the Malaysia Zero Emission Vehicle Association (MyZEVA) jointly organized an online seminar on China-Malaysia EV industry cooperation. Ir. Mohd Razif bin Abd Halim, President of MyZEVA, and Liu Xiaoshi, President of China EV100 and Board Member of GREEM, attended the seminar and delivered opening remarks.
As the inaugural session of a series of exchange activities between the two sides, the seminar brought together nearly 60 ecosystem partners from government agencies, industry associations, and upstream and downstream enterprises of the industrial chain in both countries to explore market opportunities and to warm up for the upcoming offline business investigation and cooperation platform launch event scheduled for May in Malaysia.
I.Market Insights: NEV Industry Enters New Phase in Both China and Malaysia
Nurul Shafika, Senior Analyst at MyZEVA, shared the latest developments in the Malaysian EV market. As of 2026, Malaysia's EV penetration rate has reached 6.95%, marking a successful transition from the early trial phase to an accelerated growth phase. However, market growth remains concentrated in premium and affordable segments and has yet to fully penetrate the mass market. The key priority for the next phase is to unlock the broader mass market potential by promoting localized production and improving ecosystem efficiency. Meanwhile, charging infrastructure development faces challenges. The current network of nearly 6,000 public charging points is unevenly distributed, with a significant urban-rural gap. With an EV-to-charger ratio of approximately 70:1, the existing network is already showing supply-demand pressure. To achieve the 2030 target of 20% market share, Malaysia needs to deploy over 75,000 additional charging units across the country. This presents both a big challenge and a clear market opportunity for industry players.
Zhang Qiang, Research Team Lead at China EV100, systematically outlined the current status and global footprint of China's automotive industry. He noted that the automotive industry is a pillar of China's economy, with the sector's operating revenue accounting for approximately 10% of the country's total manufacturing revenue. In 2025, China's auto exports reached 7.098 million units, of which NEV exports hit 2.615 million units, doubling year-on-year and becoming a key component of China's foreign trade "New Trio." Looking ahead, China's automotive industry is transitioning from product exports to deep local deployment overseas. By 2030, overseas production and sales (including exports) are expected to reach around 10 million units, with the share of overseas localized production likely rising to 50%.
II.Voices of Enterprises: Innovative Solutions Targeting Market Pain Points
Another core segment of the seminar featured insightful presentations from several Chinese and Malaysian enterprises, showcasing their unique value and innovative practices across the EV ecosystem.
Malaysian Enterprise Highlights:
Bateriku, a leading Malaysian roadside assistance and battery service provider, presented its comprehensive strategy to transform from a traditional automotive aftermarket service provider into a key ground operator in Malaysia's EV ecosystem. Leveraging its expansive physical network — comprising over 300 offline service points, more than 2,000 partner workshops, and over 1,500 certified mobile technicians across all states in Malaysia — the company is systematically preparing for an electrified future. Bateriku seeks to cooperate with China EV100 member enterprises in charging/swapping solutions and technical expertise. The proposed model is for Chinese partners to supply technology and products, while Bateriku takes charge of localized implementation and operations.
Kelle Energy addressed key pain points in Malaysia's EV charging infrastructure, specifically high construction costs for fixed charging stations (approximately RM300,000-400,000 per DC station), long deployment lead times (3-6 months from approval to completion), and uneven utilization (some stations congested, others idle). The company offers an innovative mobile Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and EV charging solution to address these challenges in Malaysia (and Southeast Asia more broadly). The solution is designed to complement, rather than replace, traditional fixed charging networks, and Kelle Energy is already engaged with Chinese manufacturers of mobile charging equipment.
Chinese Enterprise Presentations:
Yuanmeng Daokang (Healthlink), a leading Chinese intelligent emergency rescue service provider, introduced its AI- and big-data-powered intelligent emergency rescue system and its rollout plans for the Southeast Asian market. The company combines its experience of serving over 1 billion users and more than 30 vehicle brands in China with globally certified service capabilities that meet IAG international standards, offering a "turnkey" solution to improve Malaysia's traffic accident rescue efficiency, a critical area of deficiency. Yuanmeng Daokang has already established operations centers in Malaysia and Thailand and successfully delivered its first project in Malaysia last year.
Linkcharging New Energy Technology tackled challenges related to grid stability and harsh operating environments in Southeast Asian heavy-duty electric truck charging applications. The company presented an integrated "solar-storage-charging" solution rather than isolated charging unit installations. The solution employs large-scale energy storage systems to smooth instantaneous high-power demand, uses fully sealed heavy-duty protection equipment to withstand high temperatures, high humidity, and salt spray corrosion, and leverages an intelligent energy management system for overall regulation, thereby providing reliable support for logistics electrification.
Novelis highlighted its provision of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions to the automotive and other industries by maximizing the utilization of recycled aluminum. The company called for collaborative efforts across the industrial chain to achieve closed-loop recycling, noting that the primary challenge lies in efficiently reclaiming end-of-life aluminum and converting it back into high-quality raw materials that meet specifications. Calling this a systemic effort involving standards-setting, data sharing, supply chain collaboration, and technological innovation, Novelis expressed its willingness to work with all parties to advance this initiative.
III.Deepened Cooperation: Jointly Building the "China-Malaysia Green and Smart Mobility Cooperation Platform"
The successful convening of this online seminar marks a solid first step in advancing China-Malaysia cooperation in the EV sector. MyZEVA will serve as a key ecosystem partner to jointly establish the "China-Malaysia Green and Smart Mobility Cooperation Platform" (also referred to as the GREEM Malaysia Cooperation Center) together with China EV100 and GREEM. The platform aims to create an open and inclusive cooperation mechanism that welcomes more enterprises, research institutions, and other ecosystem partners from both countries to join and advance regional green mobility and new energy intelligent vehicle industry cooperation.
As a key launch activity of the platform, the inauguration and cooperation signing ceremony for the "China-Malaysia Green and Smart Mobility Cooperation Platform" will take place on the morning of May 12 in Kuala Lumpur, as part of the "China-Malaysia Cooperation Forum on Talent Development in the EV, Battery and New Energy Industry." Prior to that, on May 11, the two sides will jointly organize a China-Malaysia enterprise B2B matchmaking session in Malaysia, offering enterprises from both countries a valuable opportunity to engage in face-to-face discussions and explore collaboration. Interested enterprises are cordially invited to actively participate and together, open a new chapter of cooperation.
