Wuiling plans to build 10,000 units annually, will Malaysia get too?
CarNewsChina reported on 8 August 2022, SAIC-GM-Wuiling (SGMW), a Chinese automaker, officially launched its Wuiling Air EV in Indonesia. The company also announced their plans to produce 10,000 units of the Air EV annually in the Indonesian factory for both local use and export. The full article is linked here.
This happened at SGMW’s production factory in Bekasi, West Java and saw many high ranking Chinese and Indonesian dignitaries attend. The question now is, if something similar could be done in Malaysia, how much would it cost?
The reason this would be good for Malaysia is because the Air EV has already been selected as an official car for the G20 summit happening in Bali this November. Things like this would elevate any Country’s name, especially since we are so behind in EV adoption and infrastructure.
The Air EV is a small two-door car designed for city driving and can seat four. It has a permanent magnet synchronous motor producing 30 or 50kW with a range of 299km and a 100km/h top speed.
The Air EV is built on SGMW’s Global Small Electric Vehicle (GSEV) platform along with other models in Indonesia such as the Formo, Almaz RS, Almaz, Confero, Cortez and Cortez S and it has dimensions of 2,599/1,505/1,631mm and a 1,635mm wheelbase.
The exterior of the Air EV is minimalistic and features a light bar spanning the length of the car and square shaped LED Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) on the front and rear of the car. Since the Air EV is the brand’s first global car it will be exported to Egypt and India later this year and more regions after that.
The Air EV will also be made available in China with other models from the company like the Mini EV, Baojun KiWi EV and Nano EV.
Among the dignitaries in attendance was Lu Kang, the Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia and Airlangga Hartarto, the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs as well as other Indonesian officials.
The brand’s hope for the Air EV is to break the “made in China” stereotype and said that it would offer “superior-quality travel experience and commitment to environmental sustainability.”
Shi Guoyong, the Deputy General Manager of SGMW, said, “The Air EV is the newest version of battery-based electric vehicles manufactured by SGMW for the world, and Indonesia has become the first station.”
He also added that SGMW invested USD1 Billion into Indonesia to construct its 60-hectare industrial park in Bekasi as early as 2015. In June, the company had 140 dealers across the country and six models being sold.
So with that, I estimate at least USD2 Billion would be needed initially to get a large-scale operation going in Malaysia, do you agree?
