Malaysia-made Chery vehicles coming soon to PH?

Southeast Asia is home to a lot of production plants from global car manufacturers. Most established brands have set up export hubs in countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Lately, even Chinese manufacturers have joined the fray – one of them is Chery. They have set up a production hub in Shah Alam, and now they have announced they are ready to export vehicles from Malaysia to Southeast Asian markets.

Vietnam is getting first dibs of the Malaysian-made Chery vehicles and serves as the company’s first export market. Chery Corporate Malaysia has held an export shipment ceremony for the first batch of ICE and PHEV versions of Chery’s Jaecoo SUV to Vietnam. What’s worth noting is that more models from Chery’s portfolio of brands are set to join the list, with the Philippines included in the export countries.

This move could prove to give not just Chery, but possibly brands like Jetour and Omoda Jaecoo a competitive edge over its rivals in terms of pricing. Under the current import rules and the free trade agreement between ASEAN and the PRC, vehicles imported from China incur a 5% import duty if the total cylinder displacement of the engine is 1500cc or lower. For bigger displacement engines, the import duties go up from 5% to 30%.

With Chery’s Malaysia hub, they are no longer limited by engine displacement in benefitting from zero import tariffs thanks to the ASEAN Free Trade Area. In addition, it’s also an edge for Chery in the long run. If EO 12 is not extended beyond 2028, Chery can still price its Malaysia-made electrified vehicles competitively – again because of AFTA.