Malaysia’s largest carmaker, Perodua, rolled out its first homegrown electric vehicle, the QV-E, on December 1. The QV-E is positioned as a national milestone in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s drive to localize EV technology, expand domestic supply chains, and reduce reliance on foreign automakers. The sportback EV, in development since 2023 at a cost of MYR 800 million (USD 194 million), uses a lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery manufactured by China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (C...

Indonesia’s electric vehicle battery industry is increasingly relying on Chinese companies including Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) as other investors withdraw amid a slowing EV market and changes in technology, potentially leaving it with vast nickel reserves it may find difficult to build an integrated EV supply chain. At a groundbreaking ceremony for a CATL battery plant in Karawang, West Java, on June 29, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said the collaborative project between...