Bermaz Auto to sell XPeng EVs from China

After having recently ended its 2½-year involvement as distributor for the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands in Malaysia (via Berjaya Auto Alliance), public-listed Bermaz Auto Berhad (BAuto) has taken on a new brand. This is XPeng, a Chinese brand which specialises in electric vehicles.

The appointment of BAuto for distributorship, sale of spare parts and provision of aftersales services is by Shenzhen Xiaopeng Motors Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., China and Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Trading Co., Ltd., China, both of which are affiliates of Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co., Ltd. It is likely that BAuto will use an existing subsidiary or establish a new one to handle the brand.

Founded in 2014
XPeng, founded in 2014 by former executives of GAC, has investors such as Alibaba, Foxconn, IDG Capital, Qatar Investment Authority and Mubadala (Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund). In July last year, Volkswagen also became a shareholder and will collaborate with XPeng to develop EV models for the German carmaker to sell in China. Its stock is already listed on the New York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges, and it has offices in Germany, Holland, Norway, Denmark and the USA.

Malaysia first market in ASEAN
XPeng has been producing EVs at three manufacturing sites in China since 2018 and has been exporting vehicles to northern Europe since 2020. Malaysia would be its first market in ASEAN and it would also be the first time it is selling its models with righthand drive. BAuto is well known to support the Malaysian government’s localisation objectives and it is likely that it will eventually be talking to XPeng about local assembly.

“XPeng Group intends to expand its business operations over the next 3 years. Currently, our product line-up of award-winning smart EVs include the P7i sports sedan, P5 family sedan, G9 flagship SUV, and the newly launched X9 flagship MPV. Artificial intelligence is the key area of investment, designed to make our smart EVs more efficient, convenient, and accessible to appeal to the large and growing base of technology-savvy middle-class consumers. Our mission is to drive smart EV transformation with technology, shaping the mobility experience of the future and to optimize our customers’ mobility experience,” said He Xiaopeng, founder and CEO of XPeng.

Addition to BAuto’s portfolio of brands
Commenting on the development, Dato’ Francis Lee Kok Chuan, Group CEO of BAuto, said: “We are excited to be awarded the XPeng distributorship for Malaysia. XPeng marque vehicles are among the top smart EVs in China as well as globally. They are equipped with the latest state of the art features such as autonomous driving technology, digital cockpits and high-performance batteries. XPeng marque smart EVs’ Navigation Guided Pilot software offers autonomous-driving capability and can navigate in major cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai.”

“We are honoured and would like to thank Mr He Xiaopeng for his trust and confidence in us. This new distributorship will complement our Group’s existing EV business and will bring positive synergistic benefits to all parties. It is also in line with our Group’s sustainability initiatives to manage and minimise our environmental footprint by introducing more green vehicles and technologies,” he added.

BAuto’s other Chinese brands
BAuto is not unfamiliar with EVs as it offers such models in its Kia and Mazda ranges. It has also represented Chinese brands for some years though in the light commercial vehicle sector. Through its subsidiaries (Berjaya China Motor, Changan Berjaya Auto and Berjaya Brilliance Auto), it handles brands such as Kaicene, Foton, Golden Dragon, Chana and Jinbei.

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