The Chinese company unveiled three variants of its Smart #1 EV in Kuala Lumpur – the Pro, Premium and Brabus.

The Pro starts at RM189,000, rising to RM249,000 for the Brabus.

Tesla’s Model 3 also starts at RM189,000 and BYD’s Atto is priced from RM148,000.

Malaysia’s EV market is small – Fitch forecasts total sales of about 5,840 units this year, up 82% from 2022 and representing a penetration rate of just 1.8%.

Geely is also investing an undisclosed amount in a high-tech automotive city with manufacturing capacities in Tanjung Malim, Perak, where Proton cars are built. Its partner in Smart, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, became the first automaker to locally assemble an EV in Malaysia this year with its EQS model.

The Smart cars will be distributed by Pro-Net, a unit of Malaysia’s national automaker Proton, in which Geely has a 49.9% stake. Pro-Net will also distribute the EVs in Thailand, and take the brand to the east Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah next year.