Joining the likes of BMW and its 3 and 5 Series as well as X3, the Swedish automaker is set to source its upcoming EV offerings from Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia. This is according to a comment Volvo Car Malaysia managing director Charles Frump made to the Malaysian press.

“Volvo Car Malaysia’s ambition towards an all-electric Malaysia is steadily becoming a reality. Our assembly plant here in Malaysia plays an important role in our electrification ambition as we bring our electric vehicles to two more ASEAN countries—Vietnam and the Philippines. The exportation of our locally assembled electric vehicles is one of our many steps to propel Malaysia becoming a hub for electric vehicles in the ASEAN region,” said Frump.

Volvo Car Malaysia nor Frump have made any confirmation as to which models will be exported to the Philippines, but so far, Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia assembles the XC40 Recharge (above photo) and the C40 Recharge. Currently, it exports vehicles from Shah Alam to ASEAN markets such as Thailand and Indonesia. It also serves the Taiwan market.

For its part, Volvo Cars Philippines confirmed that two battery electric vehicles will join the line-up sometime in 2023.

In Malaysia, the Volvo XC40 Recharge starts at MYR 278,888 or around P 3.51 million, while the sleeker C40 Recharge starts at MYR 288,888 or around P 3.64 million.

Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia is Malaysia’s oldest and longest running vehicle assembly plant. It started operations in 1967 as Swedish Motor Assemblies before becoming a subsidiary company of Volvo Car Corporation in 2013. It currently employs around 500 people.

Source: PaulTan.org