NexV Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (NMSB), a joint venture between Kumpulan Careplus Bhd (Careplus) and Kumpulan Go Auto plans to invest RM600 million to develop the first new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturing and assembly plant in Malaysia.
Based on reports from Berita Harian, the factory that will constructed in the Rembau Industrial Area, Negeri Sembilan, is expected to manufacture a range of NEV products including electric vehicles (EVs).
Reports also state that the new plant will start operations at the beginning of the first quarter of 2025.
The factory is reported to have an initial production capacity of 30,000 units per year, out of which one-third are completely knocked down (CKD) NETA vehicles—an electric vehicle line by China’s Hozon Auto.
The facility is not only focusing on installing NETA-branded vehicles as they are open to other NEV brands that want to locally assemble passenger, commercial or motorcycle EVs.
rembau Plant to gradually increase capacity
The first phase of the project includes the development of an assembly plant, which is expected to start in the first quarter of this year, while the second and third phases are expected to start in 2026 and 2028 respectively, which will increase the production capacity to 50,000 units per year.
The development of the first phase is expected to create more than 600 skilled and semi-skilled job opportunities with the specialization of EV manufacturing, especially in the use of smart manufacturing technologies, including automation, system integration, robotics, cloud-based factory management, industrial internet of things (IoT) and other technologies in line with the Industrial Revolution Fourth (IR 4.0).
Not just Neta
Careplus Chief Executive Officer, Lim Kwee Shyan, said in addition to Intro Synergy, which is also the sole distributor of the NETA brand, NMSB also established a partnership to install other brand models such as HIGER and YUTONG.
Along with manufacturing green vehicles, the factory also uses environmentally friendly solutions, such as zero wastewater discharge technology, zero noise pollution, and solid waste is processed through a recycling center located within the factory premises. Most of the energy used in this factory is powered by solar panels installed on the roof of the factory.
Careplus Chief Executive Officer Lim Kwee Shyan
At the same event, there was also an exchange of completely knocked down (CKD) agreements between Intro Synergy and Hozon New Energy Automobile Co Ltd; and NMSB’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qingdao Huayue Guotai New Energy Car Co Ltd to explore new opportunities for NEVs in Malaysia and ASEAN.
