KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — Sime Darby Motors (SDM) is currently setting up a pop-up showroom at 1 Utama Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya. Located on the ground floor of the mall’s Old Wing, it will be used to showcase the company’s electric vehicles line-up.
This is based on the information stated by the work permit that was displayed on the site’s hoarding boards. There are also several brands shown on the boards including BMW, BYD, Hyundai, and Mini which have released fully electric models into our market.
This even applies to the BMW Motorrad that launched the BMW CE 04 electric scooter in Malaysia earlier this year. However, there is one brand on the hoarding boards that has yet to release any EVs in Malaysia: Ford.
It is a rather odd inclusion since SDM has so many other EV brands under its banner including Porsche, Jaguar, and Volvo. So, is it possible that the company will be launching Ford EVs in our market?
Will Ford EVs finally make their way into Malaysia?
While Ford has yet to release an EV in our market, the American brand already has several fully electric models throughout the world. The list includes Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, E-Transit Van, Explorer, and Tourneo Custom.
At the moment, there is no clear sign that Ford or SDM will bring the Ford EVs to this side of the world though. For one, Ford is currently enjoying its status as one of the leading players in Malaysia’s pickup truck market through Ranger and Ranger Raptor.
The only other type of Ford vehicle that is being offered in Malaysia at the moment is SUV in the form of Everest. Furthermore, Ford has also yet to release any of its EVs into Thailand which is its manufacturing and distribution hub for the Asean region.
That being said, Ford does have a plan to make Thailand an EV manufacturing hub. However, no timeline has been confirmed so far.
So, the inclusion of Ford on the hoarding boards of the upcoming EV pop-up showroom in 1 Utama could be just a matter of oversight on SDM’s part. It is also possible that the company will also slot in Ranger or Everest into the showcase but all in all, we prefer to see one of Ford EVs to be there instead. — SoyaCincau
