The Guangzhou-based company, 5 per cent owned by Volkswagen Group, said on Monday that it would partner with Malaysian firm EP Manufacturing Berhad (EPMB), an investment conglomerate focusing on automotive manufacturing and engineering, to locally assemble its intelligent electric cars tailored to the needs of Malaysian and other Southeast Asian consumers.
The plant in Malaysia, Xpeng’s second production facility in Southeast Asia, was designed to “form an integrated ecosystem encompassing localised production, sales, charging services and user operations to accelerate deep market penetration”, it said in a statement.
The announcement came less than four months after Xpeng began delivering cars to domestic customers via its completely knocked-down line in Indonesia.
Knocked-down assembly lines refer to factories where key components are produced in China and shipped overseas.
Xpeng did not say whether the production facility in Malaysia would also be a knocked-down assembly. The company also plans to expand to other markets in Asia-Pacific.
