The partnership enables AstraZeneca employees to own an EV under SDM – particularly the BMW, BYD and Hyundai brands – by paying the corporate rate instead of the market rate. The collaboration reinforces SDM’s commitment to decarbonisation and achieving net-zero emissions.

The signing ceremony took place at AstraZeneca’s corporate headquarters and coincided with World Environment Day.

The MoU was formalised between Hyundai-SDM managing director Low Yuan Lung; Sime Darby Beyond Auto’s general manager Joinh Lim; AstraZeneca’s cluster CFO Pneh Tee Koon; and head of global business services, Asia Pacific, Russell Parry.

Other noteworthy attendees included representatives from the British High Commission, InvestKL Malaysia, and the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce.

Managing director of SDM Retail and Distribution – Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau, Jeffrey Gan, said that the partnership plays a vital role in facilitating the group’s journey towards becoming a prominent leader in the EV market within Malaysia, as well as contributing to an eco-friendly future.

“We have very clear EV ambitions at SDM and partners such as AstraZeneca play important roles as enablers in helping us achieve our target of a more energy-efficient product portfolio by 2025 and becoming a leader for EV in Malaysia,” said Gan.

“We are committed to supporting AstraZeneca in their transition to EV and this collaboration marks a crucial part of our efforts to achieve a wider EV adoption in Malaysia as well as to help achieve our mission to be future-ready in the automotive industry,” he said.

SDM is the wholly owned automotive arm of Sime Darby Bhd.

At market close today, Sime Darby’s share price was up 7 sen or 3.38% at RM2.14, giving it a market capitalisation of RM14.59 billion.