Importing a Chinese EV to Malaysia: 5% Duty, 10% SST, and the CBU-to-CKD Pivot - EVHub Top

TL;DR

Importing a Chinese EV to Malaysia carries a 5% import duty plus a 10% sales tax — one of the lightest stacks in Southeast Asia — and a BYD Seal priced at $24,690 ex-factory China lands at about $33,167 (+34.3%) on EV Hub’s landed-cost model. The number that now decides whether a model can compete is not the tariff but the route: since 2026, fully built-up (CBU) imports face reinstated duties plus a RM200,000 minimum CIF value and a 180 kW minimum power output, while locally assembled (CKD) EVs like the Geely-derived Proton eMAS 7 keep full duty exemptions until the end of 2027.

Key statistics

Import duty: 5% for China-origin CBU EVs under the ACFTA tariff schedule, versus 30% for non-FTA origins such as South Korea or Europe
Sales tax (SST): 10%, unchanged throughout — it was the import and excise duty exemptions, not the sales tax, that made CBU EVs “tax-free” from 2022 to 2025
Excise duty: 10%, reinstated on 1 January 2026 when the four-year CBU exemption lapsed — a layer EV Hub’s catalog model does not add (quantified below)
Countervailing duty: none — Malaysia applies no EU-style anti-subsidy tariff on Chinese EVs
Catalog example: BYD Seal, $24,690 ex-factory → $33,166.95 landed (+34.3%); approximately $36,019 (+45.9%) if the reinstated 10% excise is compounded in the same convention
CBU entry rules since 1 July 2026: minimum declared CIF value of RM200,000 and minimum motor output of 180 kW (245 PS) — ready stock and in-transit units were exempted
CKD window: import, excise and sales tax exemptions for locally assembled EVs run until 31 December 2027
Regional position: the same Seal lands at $31,068 in Thailand, $33,167 in Malaysia, $37,155 in Singapore and $45,809 in Indonesia on the catalog model

The terms that decide a Malaysian import, defined

CBU (completely built-up) — a finished vehicle shipped into Malaysia. New-vehicle imports run through the franchise AP system; since July 2026 they must also clear minimum CIF and power thresholds.

CKD (completely knocked-down) — a partly disassembled kit assembled at a local plant. Malaysia’s policy now steers volume brands toward this route, which carries the surviving tax exemptions.

ACFTA — the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area. Its tariff schedule is what gives China-origin EVs a 5% import duty instead of the standard 30%.

Excise duty — a domestic tax separate from import duty, applied when a vehicle is imported or manufactured. CBU EVs paid 0% while the exemption ran; the rate applied from 2026 is 10%.

SST (Sales and Service Tax) — Malaysia’s consumption tax regime. The sales tax component applied to cars is 10%, charged on top of duty.

CIF value — cost, insurance and freight: the declared value of the car as it lands, before duties and margins. The RM200,000 threshold is defined on this value, not on the retail price.

AP (Approved Permit) — the import licence required for vehicles. Franchise APs cover new cars and are held by Bumiputera-majority companies working with brands; Open APs cover used and reconditioned imports.

How the 2026 tax stack actually works

The shorthand “Malaysia is 5% + 10%” describes the two layers EV Hub’s catalog model applies: the ACFTA import duty at 5%, then a 10% consumption-tax layer on the duty-paid value. Taken alone, that is the second-lightest stack of the four Southeast Asian markets we track — Thailand is the only cheaper one. And for four years, CBU EVs paid nothing at all: a Budget 2022 measure removed both the import duty and the 10% excise duty from 1 January 2022, with a RM100,000 minimum price attached to keep out a flood of very cheap imports.

The window was extended twice — first to end-2024, then to end-2025, while the CKD exemption was pushed out to end-2027. Budget 2026 made no further extension, and the finance ministry’s fiscal outlook counted on higher revenue partly because the EV incentives were expiring. Buyers got one last accommodation: vehicles that entered the country and were declared to customs before 28 December 2025 kept the exemption, regardless of delivery date.

From 1 January 2026 the full structure returned, and the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) walked the industry through the numbers: 30% import duty + 10% excise + 10% sales tax for most origins, but 5% + 10% + 10% for China under ACFTA — one layer more than the catalog model applies. The MAA’s early estimate of the retail impact for the mostly Chinese CBU EV market was in the 15% ballpark, before brand-level absorption; Tesla publicly held its 2025 prices, while others repriced as tax-inclusive stock arrived.

Then on 1 July 2026 the route itself got a filter. MITI’s new CBU EV policy requires every imported electric vehicle to carry a CIF value of at least RM200,000 and at least 180 kW of power; ready stock and cars in transit were exempted. MITI has said it will not reverse the policy, framing it as National Automotive Policy alignment with the CKD exemption as the offset for EV adoption. In MITI’s own worked example, a car at the RM200,000 CIF floor carries about RM250,000 in cost after the 5/10/10 stack and arrives at an RRP of at least RM300,000 once distributor and dealer margins are added. The ministry’s subsequent numbers were blunter still: RM3.3 billion in tax forgone across the four-year CBU holiday, with public charging still behind target.

Layer (China-origin CBU EV)	Rate	Status in 2026	Notes
Import duty	5%	Reinstated 1 Jan 2026	ACFTA schedule; 30% for non-FTA origins
Excise duty	10%	Reinstated 1 Jan 2026	zero-rated under the 2022–2025 exemption
Sales tax (SST)	10%	Unchanged	applied through both regimes
Countervailing duty	0%	—	Malaysia runs no anti-subsidy tariff

Note on the model: EV Hub’s catalog applies the 5% duty and a 10% consumption-tax layer — its uniform convention across 30 markets — and does not add the reinstated excise step. Read every catalog figure for Malaysia as a floor, and treat the excise delta below as a separate line.

Landed cost by model (Malaysia)

Figures from EV Hub landed-cost records: base price ex-factory China, plus the catalog’s Malaysia stack (5% import duty, 10% consumption tax), RoRo freight, customs clearance, certification, registration and inland transport.

Model	Base (China)	Malaysia landed	Premium
Wuling Hongguang MINI EV	$5,000	$10,425	+108.5%
Geely Galaxy E5	$15,460	$22,506	+45.6%
BYD Atto 3	$16,260	$23,430	+44.1%
BYD Seal	$24,690	$33,167	+34.3%
Zeekr 001	$38,000	$48,540	+27.7%

The percentage is worst on the cheapest car, and it is arithmetic rather than tax policy: the model applies a flat $4,650 block per vehicle in this market for freight, clearance, certification, registration and inland transport, and that block does not shrink with the price tag. On the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV it doubles the car; on the Zeekr 001 it nearly disappears. If you are comparing models for import viability, the absolute landed figure and the incremental tax matter more than the headline percentage — a pattern we also ran through BYD’s volume lineup and the general sticker-versus-landed gap.

Worked example: a BYD Seal in Malaysia

Line	Amount
Base price (ex-factory China)	$24,690
Import duty (5% of base)	$1,234.50
Sales tax (10% on duty-paid value)	$2,592.45
Freight, clearance, certification, registration, inland	$4,650
Total landed	$33,166.95

Formula: base × (1 + duty) × (1 + consumption tax) + fixed costs. Inputs from the catalog’s BYD Seal record, verified 15 September 2026; see the landed-cost methodology for the full model.

Where this model stops. The two-layer stack is not the full 2026 statutory picture. China-origin CBU EVs also carry the reinstated 10% excise duty, which the catalog model does not add. Compounding it in the same convention — $24,690 × 1.05 × 1.10 × 1.10 — puts the tax-plus-base figure at $31,368.65, and the all-in total at roughly $36,019 (+45.9%), about $2,850 above the modeled number. That is still a customs-stage estimate: retail adds distributor margin, and the new CIF and power thresholds mean a swathe of mid-range models cannot arrive as CBU at all. The precise valuation base for the reinstated excise duty, and whether any EV-specific carve-outs survive, is something we could not verify from primary sources — UNKNOWN.

The CBU-to-CKD pivot: Geely, Proton, and the eMAS 7

Malaysia’s tariff schedule is unremarkable next to its corporate map. Geely bought a 49.9% stake in Proton from DRB-Hicom in 2017, explicitly as a beachhead into Southeast Asia; the arrangement turned Proton into the group’s right-hand-drive development and manufacturing hub. That hub now builds the flagship of the country’s best-selling EV brand: the Proton eMAS 7, Proton’s version of the car our catalog lists as the Geely Galaxy E5.

The assembly story is concrete. Proton’s dedicated EV plant at Tanjong Malim — an RM82 million facility with first-phase capacity of 20,000 units a year, scalable to 45,000 — was launched in September 2025, with the eMAS 7 CKD first off the line and the smaller eMAS 5 (a Geely Xingyuan twin) following. The price story is equally concrete: the eMAS 7 launched as a CBU import in December 2024 priced from RM110,000, and the January 2026 CKD line-up listed at RM103,800 for the Prime and RM119,800 for the Premium — RM6,000 and RM4,000 below the CBU launch pricing — and a limited-time rebate took the entry variant to RM99,800. The market story: Proton registered 11,642 BEVs in the first five months of 2026, more than its entire 2025 tally, and accounted for 45.6% of every EV registered in the country this year, up from 19.8% in 2025.

Put the two halves of the ledger together and the policy logic is hard to miss. Chinese brands went from 0.08% of Malaysian registrations in 2022 to 7.6% in 2025 — 8.9% in the first five months of 2026 — and the government’s response was to keep the exemptions for local assembly while tightening the CBU door. Even critics of the new CIF and power rules describe “Geely via Proton” as the template case of a well-communicated CKD plan. The clock on that template is the CKD exemption itself, which runs only to 31 December 2027. In Europe, Geely-branded BEVs carry an 18.8% countervailing duty on top of the standard tariff; in Malaysia the same group pays 5% at the border and assembles around the rest.

The AP system: the gate before the tariff

Before any duty is calculated, a Malaysian import needs an Approved Permit. For new vehicles that means a Franchise AP, and under the National Automotive Policy only Bumiputera-shareholding companies can hold one — which is why international brands routinely import through local partners (as reported, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia sources its APs via Naza, Mazda via Prima Merdu). The CBU EV exemption of 2022–2025 operated under this same franchise AP scheme, and the July 2026 rules were communicated to franchise AP holders directly at an engagement session in April.

There is one standing exception path: MITI’s BEV Global Leaders programme grants franchise AP eligibility to EV makers that go it alone, without a local partner — Tesla is its only OEM participant and has sold CBU cars without the otherwise mandatory franchise APs, keeping its Malaysian prices unchanged for 2026. Whether that reflects duty absorption or programme treatment is not public.

The Open AP system is a separate, older track: introduced in the 1970s to build Bumiputera participation in the used-car trade and retained under NAP 2014, it covers used and reconditioned imports. Whether a brand-new EV can be brought in through an Open AP rather than a franchise AP is something we could not verify from primary sources — UNKNOWN. What is clear enough for planning purposes: without an AP-holding entity in the deal, a private importer cannot bring a new CBU car into Malaysia at all, no matter how well the tariff math works.

Malaysia against its neighbours

The same catalog model, four markets. Singapore’s figures exclude COE and ARF — the charges that make it the region’s most expensive place to register a car, whatever the duty schedule says.

Model	Base (China)	Thailand	Malaysia	Singapore	Indonesia
Wuling Hongguang MINI EV	$5,000	$10,000	$10,425	$11,400	$13,025
Geely Galaxy E5	$15,460	$21,192	$22,506	$25,082	$30,441
BYD Atto 3	$16,260	$22,048	$23,430	$26,128	$31,773
BYD Seal	$24,690	$31,068	$33,167	$37,155	$45,809
Zeekr 001	$38,000	$45,310	$48,540	$54,564	$67,970

Malaysia runs a few percent above Thailand on every model — the 5-point duty gap, softened by the flat fixed block — and far below Indonesia, whose 50% post-exemption reality we walked through in the Indonesia guide. Thailand’s 0% headline has done its job: Chinese brands build there in volume, and Malaysia’s 2026 policy is visibly chasing the same localisation outcome with different levers. For an importer choosing a base in the region, the deciding column is not the duty line at all. It is whether you are allowed to bring the car in as CBU, and where it gets assembled.

What buyers should check before committing

Route first. Does the model clear the CBU gate (CIF ≥ RM200,000, power ≥ 180 kW), or does it need a CKD plan? Most mid-range Chinese models are now on the CKD side of that line.
Old stock or new pricing. Sellers are obligated to disclose price and inventory origin at the point of order; new stock will likely quote above RM200,000, per the MAA.
The excise layer. Model the stack as 5% + 10% + 10%, not 5% + 10%. The extra 10 points compounds.
The AP question. Who holds the franchise AP, and does the deal sit under it? Individuals cannot import new CBU cars without one.
The calendar. The CKD exemption expires 31 December 2027, and the policy direction is one-way. Malaysia is also a right-hand-drive market — LHD-only models need conversion, which our RHD market guide covers.

Frequently asked questions

Does Malaysia charge import duty on Chinese EVs? Yes — for CBU imports, 5% under ACFTA since 1 January 2026, on top of 10% excise duty and 10% sales tax. Locally assembled EVs remain exempt from import duty, excise and sales tax until the end of 2027.

Why did Malaysian EV prices rise in 2026? The four-year CBU exemption ended on 31 December 2025. Import and excise duties returned at 5% + 10% for China-origin cars (30% + 10% for non-FTA origins), with sales tax on top. Brands either repriced, absorbed the difference, or pushed assembly plans forward.

Can I import a Chinese EV to Malaysia as an individual? Not as a new CBU car. New-vehicle imports require a franchise AP held by a qualifying company. The Open AP track covers used and reconditioned vehicles; whether it can cover new EVs is unverified — UNKNOWN.

Is the Proton eMAS 7 a Chinese car? It is Proton’s version of the Geely Galaxy E5 platform, assembled at Tanjong Malim with right-hand-drive development led out of Malaysia. For import math, the classification is what matters: it is locally assembled, so the CKD exemptions apply to it and not to CBU imports of the same platform.

Is Malaysia cheaper than Thailand for a Chinese EV? On the catalog model, no — Thailand is cheaper by a few percent on every model we track. Malaysia is comfortably cheaper than Singapore and dramatically cheaper than Indonesia.

The Author’s Take

Position: In my view, Malaysia stopped being a tariff market the moment the CBU gate went up — the 5% duty and 10% sales tax are just the pricing backdrop now, and localisation, not duty optimisation, is what decides which Chinese EVs can compete there.

Reasoning: First, the statutory stack is genuinely light (5% + 10% + 10% for China-origin CBU, second-lightest of the four Southeast Asian markets we track), yet the binding constraint since July 2026 is the RM200,000 CIF and 180 kW entry test — a tariff is a cost you can pay, but a gate is not. Second, the Geely-Proton template shows exactly what the policy is buying: the eMAS 7, a Galaxy E5 by another name, moved from CBU import to local assembly, cut RM6,000 off its entry price, and took 45.6% of Malaysia’s EV market this year — the loudest possible proof that the exemptions are doing their job. Third, the incentives are calendar-bound: with the CKD exemption ending 31 December 2027, the current window rewards importers who write assembly into their plans now, not those still optimising duty on finished-car shipments.

Disclosure: This is my analysis and opinion, not legal or tax advice. Duty rates, AP rules and threshold values change by ministerial decision — the July 2026 CBU policy superseded rules issued only six months earlier. Verify current requirements with MITI, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and a licensed customs broker before committing capital.

Sources

Paul Tan’s Automotive News, citing MITI — “MITI issues new rules for CBU EVs, effective min price RM300k, 245 PS fr July – promote CKD, protect Proton” — https://paultan.org/2026/05/06/miti-issues-new-rules-for-cbu-evs-effective-min-price-rm300k-245-ps-fr-july-promote-ckd-protect-proton/ — 6 May 2026
Paul Tan’s Automotive News, citing the Malaysian Automotive Association — “Tax and duties for CBU EVs set at 30%+10%+10% or 5%+10%+10% depending on country of origin, FTA” — https://paultan.org/2026/01/20/tax-and-duties-for-cbu-evs-set-at-301010-or-51010-depending-on-country-of-origin-fta/ — 20 Jan 2026
The Star — “New rules on EV imports create uncertainty for buyers” — https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2026/07/02/new-rules-on-ev-imports-create-uncertainty-for-buyers — 2 Jul 2026
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “MITI’s new CBU EV policy on July 1 is in effect, but existing stock still sold at old prices until it runs out” — https://paultan.org/2026/07/03/mitis-new-cbu-ev-policy-on-july-1-is-in-effect-but-existing-stock-still-sold-at-old-prices-until-it-runs-out/ — 3 Jul 2026
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “MITI says government has no plans to reverse new CBU EV policy – RM200k min CIF value, at least 245 PS” — https://paultan.org/2026/07/15/miti-says-government-has-no-plans-to-reverse-new-cbu-ev-policy/ — 15 Jul 2026
Paul Tan’s Automotive News, citing the Malaysian Automotive Association — “Fully imported EVs arriving in Malaysia before Dec 28 will qualify for excise, import duty exemptions: MAA” — https://paultan.org/2025/12/22/fully-imported-evs-arriving-in-malaysia-before-dec-28-will-qualify-for-excise-import-duty-exemptions-maa/ — 22 Dec 2025
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “Budget 2026: No extension for tax-free CBU EVs – prices to go up by 30-100% from January 1, 2026?” — https://paultan.org/2025/10/10/budget-2026-no-extension-for-tax-free-cbu-evs-prices-to-go-up-by-30-100-from-january-1-2026/ — 10 Oct 2025
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “Budget 2023: CBU EVs in Malaysia now tax free until end-2025; CKD exemption until December 31, 2027” — https://paultan.org/2023/02/24/budget-2023-cbu-evs-in-malaysia-now-tax-free-until-end-2025-ckd-exemption-until-december-31-2027/ — 24 Feb 2023
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “Proton’s dedicated EV plant in Tg Malim launched – CKD eMas 7 kicks off production, eMas 5 next up” — https://paultan.org/2025/09/04/protons-dedicated-ev-plant-in-tg-malim-launched-ckd-emas-7-kicks-off-production-emas-5-next-up/ — 4 Sep 2025
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “2026 Proton eMas 7 CKD – local-assembly adds spec upgrades, price now under RM100k, RM6k cheaper” — https://paultan.org/2026/01/20/2026-proton-emas-7-ckd-local-assembly-adds-spec-upgrades-price-now-under-rm100k-rm6k-cheaper/ — 20 Jan 2026
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “The eMas phenomenon: Proton is now Malaysia’s best-selling EV brand, with 46% of the market in 2026” — https://paultan.org/2026/06/14/the-e-mas-phenomenon-proton-is-now-malaysias-best-selling-ev-brand-with-46-of-the-market-in-2026/ — 14 Jun 2026
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “Geely to acquire 49.9% stake in Proton, 51% in Lotus – definitive agreement to be signed before end of July” — https://paultan.org/2017/05/24/geely-to-acquire-49-9-percent-stake-in-proton-51-percent-in-lotus/ — 24 May 2017
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “MITI’s BEV Global Leaders programme allows Tesla franchise APs – what does Malaysia get in return?” — https://paultan.org/2023/03/02/mitis-bev-global-leaders-program-that-allows-tesla-franchise-aps-what-does-malaysia-get-in-return/ — 2 Mar 2023
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “Continuation of Open AP system in line with NAP’s goal to strengthen bumiputera participation – MITI” — https://paultan.org/2016/01/18/continuation-of-open-ap-system-in-line-with-naps-goal-to-strengthen-bumiputera-participation-miti/ — 18 Jan 2016
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “Malaysia missed out on RM3.3 billion during four years of tax-free CBU EV sales; public chargers still lacking” — https://paultan.org/2026/08/03/malaysia-missed-out-on-rm3-3-billion-during-four-years-of-tax-free-cbu-ev-sales-public-chargers-still-lacking/ — 3 Aug 2026
Paul Tan’s Automotive News — “China takeover: how Chinese car brands went from 0.08% to 7.6% of the Malaysian market in 3 years” — https://paultan.org/2026/06/13/china-takeover-how-chinese-car-brands-went-from-0-08-to-7-6-of-the-malaysian-market-in-3-years/ — 13 Jun 2026
EV Hub — tariff and landed-cost records: src/data/tariffs.json, src/data/market-master.json, src/content/vehicles/*.md (517 models × 30 markets). Internal dataset, last verified 15 September 2026.