Ever since President Trump announced a worldwide tariff on various nations, China also hit back at the US with a 34% tariff on imported US goods. This has triggered an impact on the Chinese automotive brands, which can affect original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with manufacturing operations in Malaysia.
According to NST Online, Proton Deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah told the media that the price wars will also affect local vendors and distributors in Malaysia. It's a known trope that Malaysian customers are drawn to lower prices, so if the price increase happens, it will lead to stockpiling, he said. He also added that used vehicles will lose more resale value.
As customers are keen on a wait-and-see approach, Roslan said it's difficult to offer lower prices, as Chinese brands have higher operating costs, so local OEMs cannot reduce vehicle prices to match them. With the price wars going on, this will create long-term pressure on companies operating in Malaysia.
The news source did not mention anything about Chinese EV brands, but we would like to think that it will severely impact the Malaysian market as well. To refresh, there are a couple of Chinese EV brands here in Malaysia, including Chery, BYD, GWM, Xpeng and others.
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