Berjaya has announced it has signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation with Chinese commercial electric vehicle maker Skywell. The partnership is aimed at establish the latter as a prominent new energy vehicle (NEV) brand in Malaysia and the ASEAN region, Berjaya said in a statement. Skywell builds both commercial and passenger NEVs, the latter using the Skyworth brand more well-known for home appliances.

The deal subsidiary Berjaya Eco-Drive (curiously shortened to Berjaya ED) signed with Skywell will include exploring partnerships to “advance essential NEV technologies and bolster the NEV ecosystem” in Malaysia. Berjaya also signed a similar memorandum with Skyworth for appliances; both companies were founded by Stephen Wong, who is also their controlling stakeholder.

“The strategic collaborations with Skyworth and Skywell herald transformative prospects, poised to revolutionise various sectors across Malaysia and Southeast Asia,” said Berjaya founder and advisor Vincent Tan. “By combining our collective expertise and leveraging regional strengths, we stand at the forefront to catalyse innovation, foster sustainable development, and illuminate the path towards a more prosperous future for the entire region.”

Wong added: “We believe that through the joint efforts and sincere cooperation of both parties, we will achieve mutual benefits and win-win objectives, strengthening the training of talents and localisation of the entire industrial chain, new productivity besides creating landmark projects for China-Malaysia economic and trade cooperation.

“We also look forward to further promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and Malaysia in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, and culture through this cooperation, as well as injecting new impetus into the formulation of a comprehensive strategic partnership between both countries.”

We should point out that Skywell previously partnered with NexV Auto Alliance (NAASB) – a subsidiary of glove maker CarePlus – which included plans to assemble the Skyworth EV6 at its plant in Chembong, Negeri Sembilan. A source at NAASB has confirmed to paultan.org that this partnership has since been dissolved due to an inability to fulfil business requirements, with Berjaya taking up distributorship instead.

As yet, it’s unclear whether the Skyworth brand will continue to be used in Malaysia, given that the press release specifically points to a desire to promote the Skywell brand instead. For your information, the Skyworth EV6 is sold in other markets as the Skywell ET6, presumably to avoid clashing with the Kia EV6. It is also not known whether the car’s launch will go ahead in the third quarter of the year as planned, nor any details regarding CKD local assembly.

GALLERY: Skyworth EV6

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