Four years ago Malaysia waived import taxes on electric cars, part of a plan to move away from fossil fuels.

四年前，马来西亚取消了电动车的进口关税，这是该国逐步淘汰化石燃料计划的一部分。

The country was not making electric vehicles at the time, and Chinese automakers started shipping models like the BYD Atto 3 by the thousands. Soon Chinese companies came to dominate Malaysia’s small but growing E.V. market.

当时它自己并不生产电动车，而中国汽车制造商开始将比亚迪Atto 3这样的车型成千上万地运往这里。很快，中国企业便主导了马来西亚规模虽小但不断增长的电动车市场。

But the import-tax holiday ended on Dec. 31, 2025. More recently the Malaysian government announced new restrictions on imported cars. The minimum sale price of imported E.V.s is being doubled to 200,000 ringgit or about $50,000, according to Johari Abdul Ghani, Malaysia’s trade minister.

但进口免税政策已于2025年12月31日结束。最近，马来西亚政府又宣布了对进口汽车的新限制措施。根据马来西亚贸易部长佐哈里·阿卜杜尔·甘尼的说法，进口电动车的最低售价将被提高一倍至20万林吉特（约合5万美元）。

The aim is to protect jobs because Malaysia’s own carmakers are now making E.V.s. The government is hoping to push Chinese companies to assemble and manufacture vehicles in Malaysia.

此举旨在保护就业，因为马来西亚本土汽车制造商现在开始生产电动汽车了。政府希望推动中国企业在马来西亚组装和制造汽车。

China has flooded countries around the world with exports, often at low prices. The policy changes in Malaysia show how China’s manufacturing heft can force governments to make tough choices between promoting its auto industry and creating jobs, while protecting homegrown companies from foreign competition.

中国经常以低廉的价格向世界各国大量出口。马来西亚的政策变化表明，中国的制造业实力如何迫使各国政府在保护本土企业免受外国竞争的同时，不得不在促进本国汽车产业发展与创造就业之间做出艰难抉择

Two of the Chinese carmakers operating in Malaysia, BYD and Chery, would benefit from tax incentives the government is offering to companies that set up assembly plants. The companies will also face Malaysian government rules that apply to all foreign E.V. makers: Only 20 percent of the cars the plants make can be sold in Malaysia — the rest must be exported — and have to be sold at a minimum price of 100,000 ringgit.

在马来西亚运营的两家中国汽车制造商比亚迪和奇瑞将从政府为设立组装厂的企业提供的税收优惠中受益。同时，这些公司也将受到适用于所有外国电动车制造商的规定约束：工厂生产的汽车中，只有20%可以在马来西亚销售，其余必须出口；并且最低售价不得低于10万林吉特。

“In the long run, we want to ensure that manufacturers produce car components in Malaysia for assembly, rather than relying heavily on imports,” Mr. Johari said in an interview.

“从长远来看，我们想确保制造商在马来西亚生产汽车零部件用于组装，而不是高度依赖进口，”佐哈里·阿卜杜尔·甘尼在接受采访时表示。

2024年，比亚迪出口汽车在中国烟台港等待装船。

It was unclear if BYD, which was slated to build its assembly plant in the state of Perak, will go forward with its plans. The company said it is “still reviewing all possibilities and aligning internally,” declining to elaborate.

目前尚不清楚原计划在霹雳州建组装厂的比亚迪是否会继续推进其计划。该公司表示“仍在评估所有可能性并进行内部协调”，拒绝进一步说明。

Chery, however, is moving forward with its plans to build an assembly plant on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city.

不过，奇瑞正推进其在首都吉隆坡郊区建组装厂的计划。

Men Lin Bo, an executive vice president at Chery Corporate Malaysia, said the company had begun building the facility, which will produce gas-electric hybrid and gasoline-fueled cars. “Construction at the site is ongoing and progressing well. We hope to produce some cars by this year,” he said.

奇瑞马来西亚公司执行副总裁门林波表示，公司已开始建厂，该工厂将生产油电混合动力车和汽油车。“项目建设正在进行中，进展顺利。我们希望今年能生产出部分汽车，”他说。

The rules limiting domestic sales do not apply to foreign manufacturers that use the three existing assembly plants in Malaysia, the trade ministry said.

马来西亚贸易部表示，限制本地销售的规定不适用于使用马来西亚现有三家组装厂的外国制造商。

“E.V. makers will be considering whether it makes sense to set up manufacturing facilities in Malaysia if they already have plants elsewhere in Southeast Asia,” said Ramone Mikgail Kok, the investment research and advisory head at Hong Leong Bank based in Kuala Lumpur.

“如果汽车制造商在东南亚其他地方已有工厂，它们会考虑在马来西亚设立制造设施是否划算，”驻吉隆坡的丰隆银行投资研究与咨询主管拉莫内·米克高尔·郭表示。

The rise of Chinese automakers can be seen across Malaysia’s car districts. An area about 20 minutes from Kuala Lumpur, which was long dominated by Japanese and European brands, now includes several Chinese automakers.

在马来西亚各地的汽车销售商圈，中国车企的崛起已非常明显。在距离吉隆坡约20分钟车程的一片销售区域，过去长期由日本和欧洲品牌主导，如今已出现多家中国汽车厂商。

Malaysia’s biggest domestic carmakers, Proton and Perodua, each introduced electric vehicle models last year. Perodua spent over $200 million developing the QV-E, its first electric model. Proton, in the first three months of the year, sold 6,701 of its e.MAS 5 electric car, far outpacing the 999 units of BYD’s Atto 3. Geely, a Chinese automaker, owns 49.9 percent of Proton.

马来西亚两大本土车企Proton和Perodua去年都推出了电动车车型。Perodua投入超过2亿美元开发其首款电动车QV-E。今年前三个月，Proton售出了6701辆e.MAS 5电动车，远高于比亚迪Atto 3的999辆。中国车企吉利持有Proton 49.9%的股份。