2023 is going to be an electrifying year for Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) as the company announced its latest step forward in their electrification ambitions to transform Malaysia into an electric vehicle hub for the region.

The self-declared e-luxury carmaker has already begun deliveries to Indonesia in 2022 and the next step sees new exportations expected to Vietnam and the Philippines this year.

Locally, the journey begun quietly kicked off with the introduction of their first ever electric vehicle in Malaysia, the Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric in March 2022. It was a huge hit with 400 orders within the first month from its launch.

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Hot on the heels of the XC40 was it slightly more voguish sibling, the Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric, as their second locally-assembled electric vehicle. This places VCM firmly on track with aims for 75 per cent of its sales to come from their Recharge Pure Electric line-up by 2025 and to become a fully electric car company by 2030.

VCM was the first luxury automotive carmaker locally to offer a full range of CKD plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and is also the first car manufacturer in Malaysia with a local assembly plant that assembles fully electric vehicles.

Also Read: The first batch of Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric models roll out the door in Malaysia

Part of the initiative to electrify Malaysia was the introduction of its online sales platform that marks the company’s first ever initiative to sell cars directly to its customers in Malaysia with the goal of building direct consumer relationship.

It ended 2022 with a record 3,194 sales, a 43 per cent increase from the previous year and a seventh consecutive year of sales growth.

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“Volvo Car Malaysia’s ambition towards an all-electric Malaysia is steadily becoming a reality. Our assembly plant here in Malaysia plays an important role in our electrification ambition as we bring our electric vehicles to two more Asean countries – Vietnam and the Philippines. The exportation of our locally assembled electric vehicles is one of our many steps to propel Malaysia becoming a hub for electric vehicles in the Asean region,” said Charles Frump, Managing Director of VCM.