Two years after the brand was first introduced in Malaysia, Leapmotor has now begun CKD local assembly works for its electric vehicles (EV) at the Stellantis plant in Gurun, Kedah.
The brand is kicking off its CKD operations here in Malaysia Leapmotor C10, but will also expand to the smaller (and newer) B10 model by the year-end. Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Stellantis ASEAN Managing Director, Isaac Yeo, said that he expects the first line-off for the pre-production model to happen as soon as next month.
The new EV assembly lines were set up at an investment of EUR5.33 million (approx. RM25 million), of which EUR3.1 million (approx. RM14.5 million) has been specifically earmarked for production line and infrastructure upgrades at the facility, and the other EUR2.23 million (approx. RM10.4 million) for the development of localised assembly.
As part of Stellantis ASEAN’s commitment to upskilling the local Malaysian workforce for the electrified future, technical personnel and assembly operators at the plant have also undergone specialised training, particularly for the safe handling of high-voltage electric vehicular systems.
Yeo said that the plant has capacity to expand for exports and indeed even range extender EV (REEV) models currently offered in the Leapmotor global product portfolio, but those plans are still under evaluation.
For now, the company is fully focused on supplying vehicles produced at the plant for the local domestic market, delivering “cost competitive and accessible” high-tech vehicles to Malaysians, aligning with the government’s policies.
RELATED: Cycle & Carriage appointed as Leapmotor Malaysia’s distribution partner
“The start of Leapmotor’s local assembly operations at our Gurun plant is a landmark achievement that places Malaysia at the forefront of EV industrialisation in the ASEAN region. As a crucial pillar within Stellantis APAC region for global growth, Malaysia is uniquely positioned to drive our regional expansion and lead by example,” Yeo said.
“Our position is quite unique, because we are actually one of the only foreign OEMs to own a plant here. So that is also where we see the advantage for ourselves and our customers [such as Cycle and Carriage] to actually grow the Leapmotor brand, because in terms of the costing [for the production of vehicles], we are able to manage it very effectively in Malaysia,” he added.
As such, there will be no changes to pricing for the CKD Leapmotor C10 produced in Stellantis Gurun, which will continue to be priced from RM149,005 on-the-road, without insurance. The D-segment EV SUV was previously imported from China fully tax-free, courtesy of the government’s incentives for CBU EVs that has expired on 1 January 2026.
The commencement of local assembly works is also particularly timely as the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) has recently announced new directives for fully imported EVs, which requires all CBU models to meet a minimum CIF (cost, freight, insurance) price of at least RM200,000.
ALSO READ: How MITI’s latest EV directive actually impacts the industry and you
