BAIC to Kick off Electric Vehicle Production in Malaysia by September 2016

Kuala Lumpur: Earlier in May, it was being reported that Beijing Auto International Corporation (BAIC) is planning to start a manufacturing hub in Malaysia for electric vehicles. Moreover, it was also heard that this Chinese Automaker's new plant at Gurun, Kedah would me made operational by July 2016. Now, this news seems to come to reality as Madani Sahari, CEO of Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) has announced that BAIC and its local joint venture partner Amber Dual have finalised a prototype for its electric vehicle and production would begin by September or October 2016. Apart from that, it was also confirmed that this car would be made not only for Malaysian consumption but for other ASEAN markets as well.

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The prototype is expected to get ready by December this year. The model displayed earlier was an E150 EV which had a motor supported by 25.6 kWh lithium-ion battery churning out a maximum power of 61 hp along with a peak torque of 144 Nm. Moreover, it can cover a distance of 150 km in one full charge. Earlier in May, Amer Dual confirmed about the commencement of the project in Gurun. The main research and development work was around converting the left-hand drive vehicles to right-hand drive vehicles with a cost of RM50 million approx. BAIC's new plant in Gurun would cost around RM200 million to RM300 million and apart from being an assembly plant, it would also be a marketing centre for BAIC vehicles of ASEAN region. Further, the Chinese automaker is trying to achieve a target of producing around 2000 to 3000 electric vehicles next year.