The Sime Motors leadership team visited BYD headquarters in Shenzhen, China, recently to "strengthen collaboration, facilitate knowledge transfer and in-depth discussions" to support the Chinese brand's continued growth in the Malaysian market, according to Sime Motors' post on social media.

The visit by the Sime Motors leadership team "provided an opportunity for both teams to align on strategic priorities and identify areas of mutual interest in support of Malaysia's growing mobility ecosystem", and Sime Motors "remains committed to working closely with our partners to drive the continued development of the automotive industry in Malaysia", it said.

The visit could signal growing potential for a CKD (completely knocked-down) local assembly partnership between Sime Motors and BYD.

In May, BYD's VP and GM of Asia Pacific Auto Sales Division Liu Xueliang visited the Sime Motors Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah, hinting at plans for Sime Motors to become BYD's local contract-assembly partner. This would be in line with the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry's (MITI) new rules, which require EV manufacturers to work more closely with local suppliers.

Prior to this, the Chinese manufacturer initially stated in August last year that it planned to establish an assembly plant in Tanjong Malim, Perak.

Progress on the BYD Malaysia Tanjong Malim plant appeared to have come to a standstill as of March this year. This was followed shortly afterwards by a statement from MITI in response to claims on social media regarding MITI's conditions for BYD's manufacturing licence, as well as other related policies.