CKD Chery Omoda E5 BEV coming in Q2 2024 - will it be cheaper? That depends on govt. incentive approval
Sanjay · Mar 7, 2024 11:12 AM
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The Chery Omoda E5 battery electric vehicle (BEV) will be locally-assembled (CKD) come the second quarter of 2024, though early customers will get their cars fully-imported (CBU) from China.
Speaking to the media at the launch of the Omoda E5 yesterday, Lee Wen Hsiang, Vice President of Chery Malaysia, confirmed such plans. "So we will launch with the CBU first. We are looking to introduce the CKD in the very near future, somewhere around Q2, but the official date will be released once we firm up the production timing for the CKD EVs."
The ICE Omoda 5 is made in Kulim
As to how many units of the CBU will be imported in before CKD models arrive, Wen Hsiang clarifies that it all depends on how soon they can get started on assembling the Omoda E5 – in other words, customers who've made early bookings will be getting imported-from-China models.
The big question – is it going to be cheaper? At this current juncture Chery Malaysia cannot confirm or deny price changes for the CKD E5, though trends show that locally-assembled cars tend to be slightly cheaper than imported ones.
Ultimately, prices will have to go through the government's approval. It's not that the government controls pricing, but applications for excise tax rebates must be approved by the Ministry of Finance.
Currently, the government offers an excise duty, sales tax exemption, and import tax exemption for components used in CKD EVs to 31-December 2027.
The CBU Chery Omoda E5 as it is sold today retails from RM 146,800.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
