As Chery Malaysia celebrates its milestone achievement of producing the 10,000th locally assembled (CKD) unit at the Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah, the Chinese carmaker also made a brief announcement of what is to come.

With an increasing demand for its two current models, the Omoda 5 and Tiggo 8 Pro, Chery Malaysia announced that it is introducing a second assembly line at the Inokom plant. Its upcoming third model, the Tiggo 7 Pro has also commenced assembly at the plant in May while the Omoda E5 battery electric (BEV) SUV is also hinted to enter CKD production soon.

This will make the Omoda E5 Malaysia’s first locally assembled BEV as the SUV is currently being imported (CBU) from China. No proper timeline has been announced by Chery Malaysia for when CKD operations will start.

Still, CKD production of the Omoda E5 has already been in the cards as revealed by Chery Malaysia Executive Vice President Leo Chen during its launch back in March.

“By assembling our cars in Malaysia, Chery will be able to create more job opportunities and boost the local economy further. This initiative aligns with the government’s policy of localisation compliance and will assist Malaysia to become a hub for EVs in the region,” he said.

Priced from RM 146,800, the Chery Omoda E5 is powered by a front-mounted 204 PS/340 Nm electric motor that is juiced up by a 61-kWh BYD-sourced ‘Blade’ lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. Fully charged, the Omoda E5 has a claimed maximum range of 430 km under WLTP standard.

If you are considering the Chery Omoda E5, we suggest checking out our review below first before you decide if it is the right fit.

Also read: Review: Chery Omoda E5 BEV - Possibly better value than an Atto 3, but bad UI and ADAS needs a rethink