The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) has issued an official media release to announce yet another change to the fully-imported (CBU) EV policy since the end of the four-year tax holiday period under the franchise approval permit (AP) scheme on December 31, 2025.
Starting from July 1, 2026, CBU EVs will be subjected to two main conditions, namely, that they must have a minimum declared cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of RM200,000 and a minimum power output of 180 kW (245 PS)—the latter is brought down from the prior 200 kW (272 PS) requirement.
New Policy to be Implemented from July 1 Onwards
The ministry continued its statement by saying that this adjustment was made with prior discussions and engagements held with AP franchise holding companies on Apr 30 this year.
The decision to implement these changes from July 1 onwards was made after taking into account that some automakers still had remaining stock of CBU EVs, and this includes their existing stock, as well as those at the port and in transit to Malaysia.
These remaining stocks will be allowed to be sold according to the regulations within the special exemption period until they are exhausted.
No More ‘Cheap’ CBU EVs?
Mind you, the minimum RM200,000 CIF value does not entail the final price of the car, and depending on where the EVs are imported from, their prices could go well above the RM200,000 mark after factoring in the import and excise duties, as well as their sales tax.
Let’s say if you want to import a CBU EV from China with RM200,000 CIF value, the car will be slapped with a minimum of 5% import duty and 10% excise duty, as well as a 10% sales tax, which could easily see its price increasing to RM250,000, and that still doesn’t include the profit margins for distributors and dealers.
As for the minimum power output requirement, the 180 kW entry limit means that many less powerful and more affordable CBU EVs won’t be qualified for this new policy, thus potentially putting an end to mass-market CBU EVs in Malaysia.
Take BYD, for example, where most of their models won’t be qualified for this minimum power output requirement, with only the Seal and Sealion 7 having power outputs of over the 180 kW required. However, both of these EVs are retailing below the RM200,000 mark, and we’d reckon their CIF values would be much lower than the listed retail prices, meaning that they can’t meet the first requirement.
Having said that, these two requirements will only be applied for fully imported EVs, and brands that have started or already committed to setting up their local assembly (CKD) efforts have got nothing to worry about, at least for now.
