Melaka will be receiving an investment totalling RM1 billion from Fieldman EV to develop the country’s first electric car assembly plant. According to Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali, the plant will be built on a 200-hectare plot of land at the Elkay Lipat Kajang Industrial Area in Jasin.
The chief minister added that the company has also obtained exclusive distribution rights from China’s Changan Automobile for right-hand-drive electric vehicles in Malaysia, as well as the Southeast Asian regional market. Established in 2018, Fieldman EV is part of the Fieldman Group who got its start as a palm oil company before expanding its reach into toll packing services and jerrycan moulding as well as coffee, fruits, and vegetable plantations.
Sulaiman also claimed that the factory would provide 5,000 new job opportunities for locals, as well as create a downstream industry among the local automotive industry. As part of the announcement, Fieldman EV has provided an electric car to the state government, which seems to be a Changan Eado EV460 with Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) livery.
Changan is one of China’s “Big Four” automakers and currently has three electric car models in production under its brand. Its most popular EV is the Changan BenBen E-Star which is apparently the seventh best-selling EV in China last year.
Aside from that, the carmaker has also partnered with the battery maker CATL and Huawei to launch a sub-brand called Avatr in 2021. The outfit’s first vehicle which is an electric crossover called Avatr E11 is expected to be released in China later this year.
(Source: Bernama.)
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